Noboru Hyuuga
by Eternal Exodus
Summary: Noboru was a troublemaker...he knew his mother, Tenten, but his father was a mystery...read to find out about it! Rated for mild violence and mild swearing Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. COMPLETE! CHECK OUT SEQUEL: In Our Time of Need
1. Meet Noboru

Noboru Hyuuga-Letter 

Naoto,

I couldn't believe it! My mom died in the war. I sat by her grave, crying. She said she'd tell me who my father was when I was twelve. I'm turning twelve in a week!

Before she died (I know, I was there) I asked her. Oh, great! Now I'm crying! All she said was "Ne" and died. What did she mean? I know I'm a genius, but why would she say "right" before she died?

Since I never knew my father, I have to live with some jerk. They call him Neji Hyuuga, The Genius, The Hyuuga Prodigy! You know what? I call him Stubborn Jerk. He is! He always calls me a brat and tells me to respect my elders! He always sends me a present on Christmas and my birthday too. Who does he think he is? My mom wasn't poor! He acts like my father!

No offense about him since he is your uncle, but really! He's got his own problems to worry about! Konoha Council, his wife, his cousin (your mom, right?), ect. Well, I have to stop writing now, tell me how Sunagakure is!

Your friend,

Noboru

P.S. Iruka found out I skipped class, better run!

Normal POV

Noboru, the genius of the Academy, was running. Iruka was yelling threats at him. He knew he shouldn't run, but he was a troublemaker since his mom was always gone and he never had a father around. He was lonely, he always asked himself why the other kids ignored him. Except for Naoto of course. Naoto Uzumaki was gone for a whole month now though. So he would have to deal with it.

He just hoped he could outrun Shikamaru-Sensei too. He always used his technique on him to stop him from running. Also, he made sure that no stupid Hyuuga found him.

He didn't know why, but he always hated the Hyuugas. Except Hinata-Sensei of course, she was a Hyuuga until she married the Rokudaime. Everyone was dying. Godaime, Shizune, Mrs. Yoshino Nara and Mr.Shikato Nara. Well, not everyone, just anybody that mattered to him.

He couldn't exactly understand why he skipped class today. It may be because Anri Inuzuka was going to be there. She was one of his best friends too. But he couldn't talk around her without stuttering.

FLASHBACK

"Anri?" Noboru had said. Anri turned towards him and smiled. "What's wrong?" she said? "How do you tell a girl that you like her?" he said. "Well-" Just then, Kozakura walked up. "Why are you asking her? She wouldn't know anything about love! How she ever became your friend is way beyond me!" Noboru sighed. He knew what Anri would do.

Her dog eyes shifted into snake eyes. "What was that, Uchiha?" Kozakura grinned. _You just ticked her off…_thought Noboru. Anri grabbed a kunai and crushed it into Kozakura's shoulder. Kozakura screamed and Anri smiled. "I say people who have a jerk and a prep as parents are all talk and no action." She turned to Noboru. "What were you saying again? Oh, right! If you really like her, just tell her. She probably feels the same way."

FLASHBACK

He rubbed the bruise on his face from when his mom had slapped him. He still didn't understand why she would slap him when he talked about certain things, then she would cry and run off. _Women_, he thought, _never could understand them. _Suddenly he ran into someone. "Watch where you're going!" he yelled. The man looked down at him and scowled. "You again?" 


	2. Teams Announced, A new Rival

Standing in front of Noboru, was Neji Hyuuga. "Shouldn't you be in school?" He grinned and said, "Shouldn't you stop wearing a man-skirt?" Neji glared at him. "You should be more respectful about the Hyuuga tradition."

Noboru just snickered. "Why should I care? You're all the same. Think you're better than anyone else? Well, you're not!"

"You should respect"- Noboru was getting angry. "Respect what? YOU? You aren't my father so stop acting like that! How do you know how I feel? You know how hard it is to have a father that wants nothing to do with you!" Tears ran down his face.

For a brief second, Neji looked kind of sad. Noboru started to run off, but Neji grabbed him by his shirt. "Don't be a brat. There are others out that who've had it rough too." Noboru bit his hand and kept running. Soon he ran into someone with blonde hair, blue eyes, and strangely, a stern face. "Noboru, Konoha is bad enough as it is. You should be at the academy. We'll need you to help us when you're a genin," he said. Noboru looked down.

"Hokage-sama!" Noboru looked up to see Neji standing behind him. The Hokage grinned. "Stop being so formal! We've known each other too long for that!" Neji slightly smiled. "He's my responsibility, Naruto. I'll take him back to the academy," he said. Naruto looked at his watch and sighed. "Class is over, go ahead and help him pack the rest of his things." Neji bowed and grabbed Noboru's wrist.

After a few minutes of walking Neji broke the silence. "Where did you get that bruise?" Noboru looked at him. "If you are just dying to know, my mom hit me." Neji frowned. "What happened?" Noboru just sighed. "I told her that I was starting to think that my destiny is to live a fatherless life." Neji stopped and glared at the boy. "Destiny means nothing. It only leads to darkness." He then kept walking. "What's with you? I told you that you weren't my father!" He turned around and looked at me. "Noboru, what's your last name?" Noboru looked away and said, "I don't know."

Neji kept walking. Noboru looked around and finally saw a familiar face. He then frowned. Across the street was Anri, followed by Samaru. Samaru had a angry look while Anri looked calm. "Why not?" Samaru yelled. Anri turned to face him. "Listen, you Uchihas are all the same. Too confident." Samaru had a disgusted look. "Is that the only reason? Like you're any different!" Anri smiled. "Actually, I don't mind losing and I don't ever think I'm trying my best." Samaru apparently just ignored her. "One day, you'll beg to be my girlfriend." She laughed and said, "Pathetic, go ask someone with a better bloodline. You know I don't like you."

She looked at Noboru and waved. "Hi!" Noboru waved back. Samaru snickered. "I don't see why everyone calls you a genius. Your grades are lower than Naoto's." Anri looked at him and scowled. "See! You're just a jerk! Leave Noboru alone!" Samaru laughed and said, "He's just a loser, look at him. He doesn't even have a family name to" Anri cut him off by punching him in the stomach. "Jerk!" She looked at Noboru, smiled, and walked off.

Noboru blushed and started to walk away with Neji, when he was suddenly slammed against a wall. "Listen, I saw the way you looked at her. She's way too good for you. Stop following her around," Samaru said with a smirk.

Noboru scowled and said, "Anri's just a friend." A boy walking past them suddenly stopped. "Anri?" he said. He looked at them. They could clearly see the Inuzuka Clan tattoo on his face. "You know, I don't like people talking about my cousin like she's some item you can buy." He glared at them. "She'll probably be married within her clan anyways." Samaru glared back at him and said, "Who the heck do you think you are?"

"Inuzuka Akito, also if any of you get near my cousin, I'll kick both of your asses." He walked off. Samaru just smirked and said, "He must not know anything. He's not a full-blooded Inuzuka though. Most small clans are married into larger clans." He looked at Noboru. "Not tramps like you." He suddenly fell unconscious. Neji was standing over him, hand still glowing blue. "Damn brat." He looked at Neji and they continued towards their destination.

1 WEEK LATER

Noboru was running to school. Today was his birthday, and the day where Iruka and Shikamaru-sensei would decide the new Genin teams. As soon as he got there, he sat down and tried to stay calm.

Noboru-POV

I looked around. Kozakura was chatting with Ginama Sarutobi about Isamu Hatake. What's so great about that guy anyways? Tami was trying not to kill Naoto, who had come home for graduation two days before. Samaru was sitting next to Anri, trying to woo her. She looked liked she wanted to rip off his head. Inomaru and Shikaro Nara were talking while Choukata was looking at herself in the mirror. Choukata and Inomaru were the only Akimichis who didn't look like pigs. Tami and Shikaro were siblings, but whenever she tried to talk, he just said "how troublesome" and walked away. Yoshi Hyuuga was staring at her cousin, Naoto, like he was an idiot. What a stupid Hyuuga. I bet she doesn't even remember her cousin's birthday.

I know one reason why I don't like Hyuugas. Those damn branches! Of course the council is trying to get rid of them, but why would they have them in the first place? Naoto was just lucky.

Normal POV

"Ok class," Iruka said, "I will now announce the teams. He went through 3 teams before the people Noboru knew were announced. "Team 4: Nara Tami, Uchiha Samaru, and Hyuuga Yoshi. Team 5:Uchiha Kozakura, Hatake Isamu, and Sarutobi Ginama. Team 6: Uzumaki Naoto, Noboru, and…" Noboru crossed his fingers. "Inuzuka Anri." Noboru cheered inwardly.

In 1 minute, the last team was announced. "Team 10: Nara Shikaro, Akimichi Choukata, Akimichi Inomaru."

Noboru POV

I waited for our sensei. The only teams left in the room were Teams 4, 5, 6, and 10. 4 jounins walked into the room. One had bowl-cut hair and bushy eyebrows. Another had short hair, sunglasses. A collar and jacket hood covered most of his face. That guy scared me. Another had long, blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. She looked at us with piercing blue eyes. The last one was an Inuzuka. It was Anri's father to be exact.

The girl with the blonde hair said, "Which group of you is team 10?" Shikaro, Choukata, and Inomaru stood up and walked towards her. They left. Then the one with the sunglasses said, "Ino's a bit too excited. Team…" I closed my eyes and crossed my fingers. That guy looked creepy! "4." I sighed. Tami, Samaru, and Yoshi stood up and walked towards him. "What's your name exactly?" Tami asked. The man furrowed his eyebrows. Then, Anri's father spoke. "He's Aburame Shino, kids. Creepiest guy out of the Rookie 9 when I was a kid." Shino looked at him. "Kiba, I think I know my own name. Do you need help introducing yourself?" Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Moody much?" Shino and his team left. Kiba spoke up. "Ok, Team 5." Kiba and his team left. Bushy-brows grinned. "Hello my youthful charges! Let's go and run 500 laps around Konoha!" I blinked. Was he insane? Anri looked like someone had just slapped her. Naoto looked sick.

I spoke up. "Shouldn't we do normal training? Or better yet, introduce ourselves?" He grinned and gave us a thumbs-up sign and I swear his teeth made a "ping" noise and sparkled! "What a youthful idea! Let's go to my old training ground! I'm meeting an old teammate there!" How boring.

1 hour later-Normal POV

"Ok! Time for a youthful introduction! Names, Goals, what you like and what you hate! I am Rock Lee and you three are?" He pointed to the three of them.

"Naoto Uzumaki! I want to become Hokage someday! What I really like is ramen! Who I dislike are the Uchihas…snobbish brats!"

_Like father, like son, _Lee thought. "Noboru. What I hate is the Hyuuga Clan. What I like…I don't feel like saying that. My goal is to find out who my father is."

"Inuzuka Anri. What I like is training with my father. Who I hate…I can't tell you. My goal…I don't feel like telling you." She looked at the ground as an image of snake-like eyes appeared in her mind.

"Well, that's great! Now, let's start- Neji!" Lee ran over and hugged his ex-teammate. "Get off me! I don't see why you wanted me to come!" He pushed Lee off him and brushed himself off. "Did you hear that Gaara is staying in Konoha for 3 nights?" Lee jumped for joy. "Another youthful childhood friend!" He turned to his team. "You all can meet him tomorrow!" Anri groaned. Naoto yawned. Noboru sighed. He glared at Neji. "Why are you here?" Neji frowned and said, "To monitor your training of course."

Lee looked at Noboru and said, "I have a question. Why do you hate Hyuugas if you are clearly part Hyuuga?" Noboru scowled and replied, "These eyes could've been a trait from generations ago. I haven't lived in the Hyuuga Mansion all my life, so I must not be too closely related to those jerks."

Lee frowned. Noboru had a stern look. "Destiny led me to have these eyes, so I try not to go against it. No one can change" Neji punched him and sent him flying through the air. "People can change destiny. If they couldn't, Naruto wouldn't be Hokage. Hinata would've survived. I would've killed the Hyuuga's Main Branch an Lee wouldn't be a ninja."

Noboru stood up and looked at his teammates. Anri's snake eyes had appeared and she had a concerned look. He glared at Neji. In the middle of their training, Noboru aimed at different targets and hit them with a 100 accuracy. Every time he threw one, it reminded him of his mom. He started thinking to himself, _I wish that they had found the body. I wanted to see her one last time._

Neji and his mom had always been friends. He came over to their house most of the time. He was barely ever home, even at night. _Probaly because his wife's a bitch._

He looked over at Neji and smirked. Neji was talking to Lee, so now he could have his revenge. He turned around, and through a kunai at Neji's head. It hit him and he fell backwards. _Got him!_ Noboru thought to himself.


	3. Some Answers

Neji vanished in a puff of smoke and turned into a log. Noboru frantically looked around. A kunai was held up to his neck. "I told you to respect your elders." Neji smirked and dropped the kunai. Anri looked at Noboru and frowned.

Naoto gave him a thumbs-up and mouthed "Nice try!" Lee broke the awkward silence and said, "Today we are going to spar! Noboru and Naoto, whoever wins faces Anri!" Noboru sighed and got in a fighting stance. Anri sat down and looked up at Neji. Naoto rushed at him, but he easily dodged him and hit him with a kunai. Naoto fell, but stood up. Blood ran down his back.

Lee frowned, "Try not to injure your teammate." "Whatever," Noboru whispered. Naoto rushed at him with a kunai, but he dodged him again and threw a senbon that hit him directly in the neck. Naoto fell over. Noboru smirked and looked at Anri. She stood up and walked towards him.

Noboru took out a senbon and threw it at her neck. She easily dodged it and smirked. He clenched his fist and pulled his hand back. His chakra strings were attached to the senbon. The senbon flew back towards him. Anri dodged in time so that it didn't stab her. It barely even scratched her. "Your aim's off," she said with a smirk.

She formed a few seals and got down on all fours. "Shikyaku no Jutsu!" She ran at him and clawed him in the face. Blood slowly ran down his face. He watched her every movement and dodged her attacks. She appeared behind him a slashed his back. Noboru cried out in pain as blood ran down his back.

Lee shouted, "I said no serious injuries!" Neji smirked and said, "They won't listen. Sparring isn't a great kind of training when you first get the team." Noboru looked around and sensed her behind him again. He turned around and his hand glowed blue. His body unwillingly moved as he punched her in her chest.

She cried out and flew up into the air and was slammed against a tree, blood pouring from her mouth. Noboru's angry face turned into a frightened, concerned look. He looked at his hand, wondering what had just happened. Neji looked shocked while Lee ran over to Anri and picked her up. He ran off towards the hospital. Noboru slowly backed away and fell down, staring at his hands.

Neji walked towards him. "How did you know how to use that?" Noboru looked at him. "You know what it was?" Neji nodded and replied, "Juuken. It's a traditional Hyuuga technique." He looked at Noboru. "Let's go to the hospital. That isn't a technique where you should hit someone that hard. You're going to apologize." Neji walked off towards the hospital. "Hey! I can move now! Ouch!" Noboru turned around and saw Naoto standing up, holding the needle. "Where'd everybody go?

"Hospital."

"What happened?"

"I'll explain on the way."

They both started to run towards the hospital. After Noboru had explained everything, Naoto gave him a confused look. "How were you able to do that?" Noboru shrugged and kept running. After they had gotten to the hospital they ran to the front desk. A woman with bluish hair and lavender eyes looked at them and smiled. "Can I help you?"

Naoto spoke up, "Kaasan, where's Anri's room?" She was about to open her mouth to speak when… "Hinata!" Hinata sighed. Shino walked towards them. He was carrying Tami. Blood ran down her arm. Hinata had a stern look. "You all should try being a little easier on the genin. That's the second one today." She sighed until she saw Shikamaru walking by. "Nara! Go treat that girl's wounds." She pointed to Tami. Shikamaru glanced at Tami and stopped. A frightened expression came over his face. "Tami!"

Shino looked at him. "Shikamaru, she's losing too much blood. You better hurry." Shikamaru took Tami from Shino and ran down the hallway.

Naoto waved a hand in front of his Hinata's face. "Hello! Mom! Where's Anri's room?" Hinata looked at him "104." Noboru and Naoto ran down the halls, bumping into several people on the way. When they got to Anri's room they burst through the door. Anri still had blood pouring from her mouth. Lee was running around the room, that is until Neji knocked him out. A pink-haired woman was leaning over Anri, trying her best to stop the bleeding. "Neji, doesn't this sort of remind you of the Chuunin Exams? You know, your fight against Hinata?" Neji frowned and said, "I'd rather not remember that, Sakura." She looked at him. "You and Hinata made up though." He looked at her and said, "I can't get over it. Whenever she has a cold and coughs, she only coughs up blood. It's all my fault."

Noboru-POV

I looked at Naoto, who was clenching his fists. I put an arm in front of him. I may hate Hyuugas, but I'm not stupid enough to hit one. Except Neji, of course. I looked at Anri. She looked pale. The blood was pouring out so fast, you might wonder how she lived. I felt so guilty. It was all my fault. I felt tears run down my face. Naoto ran off down the hall. I could tell he was crying.

Neji looked at me funny. He looked amused. He walked towards me and grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room. "Let's go. Sakura said that her chances of living are slim. You can come back tonight." We walked towards the front desk where Hinata was putting on a coat. Naoto and Yoshi were standing next to each other.

Neji looked at Hinata. "Hinata, ready?" She nodded and he let go of my hand. While we were walking, I noticed Neji keep his eyes on Hinata, he was holding a kunai. We walked for about 20 minutes when we stopped at the Hokage Tower. Hinata waved to us and she walked into the building, followed by Naoto. We kept walking until we got to the Hyuuga House. I looked at it with a disgusted face. _I'm moving out of here ASAP! _I thought.

I felt like someone was looking at me so I turned to Yoshi. She was glaring at me. As soon as I looked at her she looked away. She walked towards one part of the house, while Neji and I walked towards the other. When we walked up to his room, his wife was sitting in a chair near the back of the room. "Neji…" she said seductively. Neji scowled. "I told you to leave me alone. The deal's almost over." She frowned. "Maybe the reason the war started was because you never agreed for a branch family heir." He glared at her and said, "The reason is because the arranged marriage didn't help. I don't need an heir from your ridiculous clan." She pouted. She looked at me and said, "Why don't you run along kid. This is between adults." I smirked. If I left them, Neji would be tortured.

Then I remembered that she wanted her own children. I may not like Neji, but I hate his wife even more. I stood where I was and smirked. She scowled at me and said, "You little brat! You better listen to me. I'm in charge of you now!" Neji slapped her and said, "You have no right to talk to him like that. Also, no matter how much you beg or plead, I'm not going to stop anyone from killing you." I blinked. He just slapped his wife? Married couples always act sickingly sweet to one another. What was with him?

"Your uncle told you to get over that girl a long time ago. She ended up marrying some other man, right?" she said. He looked at her and replied, "Your country broke its agreement. You tried to get a Hyuuga heir for your family…no one goes against Konoha without being severely punished. His hand glowed blue, he hit her in the chest, and she fell over. Blood was flowing out of her mouth. I walked over to her. She wasn't breathing. I looked at Neji.

He opened his weapons pouch and pulled out a sheet of paper. I walked over and read the paper. It was a mission report. I looked at the type of mission. It was a C-Rank assassination. I looked at him questioningly. "I'll be back in a few minutes, you get some rest." He walked off. I looked at the girl's body. She had a pool of blood around her now. I still didn't understand why he would kill his own wife.

There was a knock on the door. A woman with black her and lavender eyes walked in. "Nej- oh, did he leave?" I nodded. She looked over at the body. "Seems like he completed his mission." She sighed. "That's what she gets for trying to get a Hyuuga in her bloodline. She was only trying to complete a mission. Neji found out and told the Hokage. Neji never did like her. He never could stay in the same room as her for two seconds. He slept in a guest bedroom."

I blinked. Did she just tell me about a secret mission? I'm a genin I'm not supposed to know about assassinations. I smirked. Looks like I was going to finally get some answers.


	4. First mission

Noboru looked at the woman, "Can I ask you something?" She looked at him and said, "Tomorrow, for now, get some rest." She walked out of the room. Noboru frowned and looked at the two beds in the room. _Sleep In here? In the same room as a Hyuuga?_ He made a disgusted face. He kicked off his shoes and jumped on one of the beds. _Well, it can't be that bad I guess._ He yawned and, forgetting that he was supposed to go back to the hospital, slowly drifted to sleep.

_"Mother!" Noboru yelled in a choked voice. He looked down at her. Who knew a trip to Suna could be this…terrifying. She looked up at him. A tear ran down her face as she looked into her son's pale eyes. "Don't be sad, Noboru. This is how it ends for a ninja. To die in battle or a mission." She tried to sound calm, but she sounded frightened and choked. She didn't want to be separated from her son. "Don't worry about me, Noboru." He looked at her. Was she crazy? "Mother, at least tell me one thing." She looked at him. "Who was my father?" Tears streamed down her face. "Ne" The extreme blood loss had caused her to faint._

_Noboru had tears pouring out of his eyes. ANBU members dragged him away from her, despite his struggling. One picked him up and ran off. He heard explosive tags going off and an occasional scream. What had been a peaceful trip to Sunagakure had turned into a nightmarish battle. He looked over the ANBU's shoulder, but he couldn't spot his mom. He felt a tear hit his skin. He looked at the ANBU. An ANBU? Crying? He slowly moved his hand up to take off the ANBU's mask off…_

"Noboru! Wake up!" a voice called. Noboru opened his eyes. Pale bluish eyes stared down at him. An idiotic grin spread over his face. "Morning Sleeping Beauty." Noboru threw a pillow at him, but he caught it. "Naoto!" Naoto chuckled. "What's wrong, dreaming 'bout Anri?" Noboru's face turned red. "NAOTO!" He threw a kunai that scratched Naoto's face. Naoto chuckled. Come on! We have to go to the hospital to get Anri!" Noboru's angry expression turned into pure shock. "She's ok?" Naoto nodded. "Just don't get near her father. He was really mad. Oh, yeah, I forgot your birthday present a few days ago, so…" Noboru made a disgusted face. _Please don't let be like last year's!_ he continually chanted in his head. "Here!" Noboru dared to look. His eyes widen. It was his mom's old ANBU mask. "Where did you get that?" he snapped.

Naoto grinned. "My dad was going to get rid of it, so I told him that I wanted it and" Noboru looked at him. "Where did he find this?" Naoto shrugged and threw it to him. "He never tells me anything. He always says 'All secrets are revealed in time.' Doesn't he know that I can't stand waiting?" Noboru looked at the mask. A tear ran down his face. He quickly brushed it away, but Naoto saw it and frowned. "Sorry, I didn't know it'd upset you." Noboru shook his head. "No, thanks. I really appreciate it. It's just…so many people have died in the war. Kaasan, Tsunade-sama, Shizune, Inuzuka Azami, and so many others." Naoto frowned. "Grandfather."

Noboru looked at him. "Hyuuga head?" Naoto nodded. "Let's just go get Anri." They left the Hyuuga Mansion and walked towards the Konoha Hospital. When they got there, Neji was standing at the door with Anri. She was staring at the ground. She coughed every now and then, but when she did, blood dripped out of her mouth. They walked to the training area and met Lee there. "Lee-sensei, what do you want us to do?" Anri said. She avoided eye contact with everyone. Lee looked at the genin and grinned. "Let's run 200 laps around Konoha!" The three Genin shrugged. "On our hands!" Everyone sweat-dropped. "Lee, that's not a good idea. Just go to the tower for their first mission. I'm meeting someone here."

Lee nodded and started walking off, followed by the three Genin. Later, everyone stood up on a watchtower, Lee babbling on about youth. Noboru was staring at the mask. Naoto shouted insults at Lee, telling him to stop talking. Anri still didn't look at anyone. "This is a guard mission, guarding Konoha is a mystery in ranking. Shouldn't a Jounin be assigned to this?" Noboru asked. Lee shook his head. "In times like these, ninjas of all ranks play their part, no matter the cost." Noboru sighed. "Noboru." Noboru turned his head towards the voice. For the first time that day, Anri had spoken to him. She looked at him. "Don't take this to your head. Naoto begged me to give you a birthday present. This was his idea ok?" _Damn Naoto and his blackmail! _she thought. "Close your eyes." He did as he was told. He opened his eyes after a few seconds to see Anri gently place a kiss on his lips. He blushed like he had seen Naoto's mom do all the time. Lee looked at them. "Youthful love! You know when" Someone hit him on the head. Anri moved away from Noboru to stare at the person.

It was a woman with the Inuzuka Clan marks on her face, next to her, was Akito. "Your test was too easy! You let these three pass?" Noboru looked at her. _What test? _He thought. Lee grinned, "They have true talent! Years have gone by, so only four teams can don't have to go back to the academy. They are the best!" The woman sweat-dropped. "I may not know a lot about you, but my brother sure did. He was right, you are weird." Anri looked at her. "Hana, what are you doing here?" Hana smiled, "Akito is helping you with your guard job. I'll be leaving now." She walked away. Akito glared at Noboru and sat between Noboru and Anri. "Anri, you shouldn't go anywhere without Akana." Anri frowned. "She's so small. What if she got hurt?" Akito sighed. "Your dad told you before. Akamaru used to be that small. He could still fight." Anri sighed. "Ok, I'll take her next time."

"Your dad worries too much. Ever since" Anri glared at him and he instantly shut up. "Leave me alone," she said. Akito shifted his gaze from Anri to Noboru, and glared. "Staring Contest! Can I join?" Naoto said. Noboru and Akito glared at him. Naoto stepped back and resumed his job of shutting Lee up. Noboru stopped glaring at Akito to look over the tower. He was on guard duty after all. Anri spoke up, "This is boring, no one will get near Konoha. The ANBU will make sure of that." She sighed and yawned. She became drowsy and soon enough, fell asleep.

_Anri cried out in pain. "You bastard! What did you do to her!" a woman yelled. A man with black hair, pale skin, and yellow eyes smirked. "First you attack Konoha, and now you place the cursed seal on your own granddaughter?" She tackled him against a tree and took both his hands to form a seal. "Sojasosai no Jutsu!" she yelled. "Mom! Wait!" Anri yelled, clutching her neck in pain. Two snakes slithered out of the woman's sleeves and bit her and Orochimaru's wrists. "I'll see you in the next world, father." The woman said, smirking. "I'm afraid not, Azami." Azami turned around to look at Orochimaru. She became dizzy as the poison came into affect. "Damn you!" Anri watched Orochimaru's substitution melt into mud. Anri felt a throbbing pain in her neck and started to feel dizzy-_

"Anri! If we have to stay up, so do you!" Naoto's voice rang in her ears. "What? Leave me alone. I'm tired." She said drowsily. She looked over at Lee, who was doing push-ups…with his thumbs. "1,203; 1,204; 1,205." Anri sweat-dropped. _Where does he get all his energy? _She thought to herself. She closed her eyes and Naoto hit her on her head. "What was that for?" she screamed. "I told you to stay awake!" Anri glared at him. "So, Anri." She turned to see Akito, still in the same place as when she had fallen asleep. "Your father told me that you were in the hospital last night. What was wrong?" She replied, "I passed out while we were training." Noboru looked at her. "What are you" Anri looked at him and winked. Noboru mouthed 'Oh'. "That's right, she was training a little too hard." Akito looked at both of them. "Don't try so hard next time. Anri nodded. "Wakata (I understand)."

Suddenly both Anri and Akito paused and sniffed the air. Anri ran over to the edge of the watchtower she growled angrily and Noboru walked towards her. "What's wrong?" She made a few seals and yelled, "Shikyaku no Jutsu!" She jumped off the tower, onto a tree, and then tackled a man that was walking towards Konoha. Noboru looked shocked as soon as he saw the Sound forehead protector. Everyone ran down the steps to where Anri was. She had a bloody gash on her shoulder. She had been able to at least knock the man out. She had also accidentally ripped the man's jacket. Under the jacket, the man had explosive tags covering his back. In his hand was a message from Otokage (Orochimaru). It was supposedly a message of surrender. They opened up the note and their eyes widened. The paper was blank.

A/N-For people who didn't get that last part, the answer will be revealed in Chapter 5. Also, I know that I'm adding random characters, but be patient. Their backgrounds will be revealed in time.


	5. A new mission, a bit of embarrassment

Noboru-POV

We stared in shock. The man had tried to kill the Hokage. "Suicidal. The message was just an excuse to get to the Hokage. How pitiful." Anri snapped. I haven't heard her this angry in a long time. Her fangs weren't the Jutsu's, because I could clearly see dangerous venom dripping from them. I stepped away from her. Anri leaned towards the man and lifted his hair to see a strange marking on his skin. She hissed and stood up. Her eyes were full of hatred. It was just an outsider, so she didn't have to get so worked up.

"Akito, Noboru, carry this man to the Hokage, remove the explosive tags," Lee ordered. We both nodded and removed the tags from the man's back. My hand glowed blue with chakra, as I made sure there were no more explosive tags were on him.

Anri watched the man carefully then she clutched her neck in pain. "Lee-sensei, I need to go home." Lee looked at her. "Are you okay?" Anri replied, "I feel kind of sick." Lee frowned, "I guess so, but maybe someone should take you home." Akito wasn't paying any attention. "Lee-sensei, I'll help Akito take the man to the Hokage tower," Naoto said. Lee looked at me. "The guarding mission's over." I sighed and Anri and I started walking towards the Inuzuka Mansion.

"That wasn't the end of them." I turned to look at her. "What?"

"That wasn't the end. I smelled hundreds of different scents. I guess the ANBU couldn't hold them off.

"Is that so." I looked at the sky.

She nodded and said, "Konoha will be destroyed at this rate. Unless…"

I looked at her, clearly interested. "I know a secret Jutsu that just might save us. The downside is that it was forbidden. Also, for each time I use it, I need to have a sacrifice." I looked at her. She looked completely calm. "Are you crazy? Who the heck taught you that?" She looked at me. "My mother."

"Why would you want to use a jutsu like that?" She sighed. "I don't. It's a last resort. Otogakure (Village hidden in the sound) teamed up with Kirigakure (village hidden in the mist). They have all sorts of techniques that can easily kill us." I changed the subject. "So, how did Naoto convince you to…um…" Anri chuckled. "Blackmail. Don't take it personally."

Normal POV

Noboru frowned. "I see." They stopped at the Inuzuka Mansion. A small dog ran to greet Anri. "Hey Akana!" Anri said. Akana ran around in circles and then ran towards a larger dog in the Inuzuka's garden. "Noboru." He turned his head and was waiting for a question when Anri gently kissed him. "That wasn't from blackmail. Happy Late Birthday!" She ran off towards the garden as Noboru walked away, confused. He walked to the Hyuuga Mansion.

When he got there, he went to the dining room and sat down. "How were your first missions?" Hinata said with a smile. Yoshi made a disgusted face. "First, my team had to pick weeds, then water plants, then make a few ramen deliveries! They call those missions?" Naruto looked at her. "You try being Hokage! You can't just say no to every mission. You especially have to accept mission offers from your own village." Yoshi shut up and then Hinata looked at Noboru and Naoto. "What about you two?"

Noboru still had a dazed look. "Fine."

Naoto stood up. "It was great! First, we were all bored. Then a Otogakure ninja starting walking towards Konoha. Anri got all mad and jumped down from the tower, onto his back. He fell and tried to get her off of him and sliced into her leg with a kunai. Anri ripped his arm with her teeth and she slammed his head against the concrete, knocking him unconscious!"

Naruto looked at him and blinked. Hinata almost fainted. Neji just kept eating. Neji picked up his tea and took a sip of it. "Also, I talked Anri into kissing Noboru for a late birthday present!" Neji spit out his tea. Naruto choked on his ramen. Hinata fainted. Yoshi's mom (Hanabi) dropped her chopsticks. Yoshi gaped at Noboru. "Exactly how did you talk her into it?" She said slowly. Naoto grinned. "I threatened to lock her up in her closet for 3 days and transform into her and go around the village acting like my normal self."

Noboru raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't she kill you?" Naoto chuckled. "She was temporarily paralyzed from a needle in her neck." Naruto chuckled.

Noboru stood up. "I'm not hungry." He walked upstairs. He walked into his room and made a disgusted face. The Hyuugas sure did like to clean. Noboru once again kicked off his shoes and jumped onto the bed. _Maybe I should stay awake. I don't want another nightmare._ Soon enough, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

_Noboru reached up to take the ANBU's mask off. The ANBU slapped his hand away and said, "This is no time to be curious." Noboru looked at him. "Are you really an ANBU?" The ANBU kept running. "Used to." Noboru felt like he had heard the voice before, but the mask made it sound dry and scratchy. A bit of blood fell on Noboru's face. He looked up in time to see the ANBU dodge a body that was falling from the trees. Off in the distance he heard a scream. There were so many voices. He felt something prick his arm. He looked down to see a small senbon in his arm. He began to feel sleepy. The last thing he heard was the ANBU say, "I'm sorry." Then, he blacked out._

Noboru woke up to Akana barking and sitting on his chest. He shoved her off and spotted Anri and Naoto on the far side of the room. Anri grinned, "Come on! We have another mission!" Noboru groaned and turned over, face down in the pillow. Anri rolled her eyes. "Ya know, having a tracking mission isn't that bad. Noboru stood up and grabbed a hairbrush.

"Who?" Anri smirked. "That sound ninja escaped. I guess I didn't rip up his arms well enough." Noboru shivered. "Blood-thirsty," he muttered. Anri chuckled. "After being in the Inuzuka clan and training with Anko that happens to a person."

Noboru finished brushing his hair and getting ready. He packed a few things for the trip and the three genin ran out the door. They met Lee at Konoha's gate and ran out into the forest. "This will take forever!" Naoto complained. Lee looked at them and grinned. "Do no worry! We will find him within one hour!" Everyone sweat-dropped.

"Lee-sensei, he could be miles away. Plus we can't go at a constant pace," Anri said. Lee gave her the nice guy pose pose. The three Genin sweat-dropped. Anri sniffed the air and her eyes widened. "Akana!" Anri and Akana headed towards Lee. She whispered something to him and she started taking the lead. Everyone followed behind her until she stopped at a river.

She clutched her head in pain. "Which one!" she yelled in frustration. Akana sniffed the air and backed away from the river, "We lost him." The other three caught up to them and Naoto looked at them. "Why'd you stop?" Anri looked at him. "This river blocks out his scent. Plus on the other side of the river, there are too many scents. It's confusing." Lee looked up at the sky. "We have to keep going. It will be dark soon." Noboru whispered to Naoto, "You have the Byakugan, right? Why don't you find him?" Naoto frowned. "I'm not very good with it. Unlike Yoshi, I can't see far."

He looked at Noboru. "What about you? You're part Hyuuga." Noboru shook his head. "I told you, my Hyuuga blood came from generations ago. Decades, centuries…It will probably be worse than yours. For all I know, I can't even use it!" Naoto raised an eyebrow. "How do you know how long ago?" Noboru ignored him. Naoto grinned. "You're in denial. You don't want to believe that you're part Hyu-Itai!" Noboru hit him on the head and kept walking.

A few hours later, the sky was pitch black. Anri kept running, having good eyesight made it easy for her to run in the dark. Naoto on the other hand, ran into so many branches, Noboru thought he would've been out cold by now.

"Lee-sensei! Can we stop here for the night?" Naoto said as he ran into another branch. Lee stopped along with the three genin and sighed. "I guess so." Anri growled. "We'll lose him at this rate!" she snapped. Noboru looked at her. "We'll catch him anyways, don't worry." Anri glared at him but eventually ran up a tree and lied down on a branch. Noboru yelled up to her, "Didn't you bring a sleeping bag or anything else?" Anri looked at him. "Nope. All I need is a toothbrush, toothpaste, clothes, and my weapons." Noboru raised an eyebrow and rolled his sleeping bag out next to the tree. Naoto and Lee rolled out their sleeping bags and lied down in the center of the forest's path. They instantly went to sleep and started snoring.

Noboru eventually fell asleep, but woke up in the middle of the night from the other two's snoring. _Damn, how can Anri sleep through this? _He thought. He tried to fall back asleep but was wide-awake as soon as something hit his stomach. He groaned in pain and looked to see what had hit him. Apparently, Anri had fell from the tree and had her head on his stomach. He winced in pain.

"Anri?" He tried to wake her up or at least move her. She didn't budge. A tear ran down her face as she started crying in her sleep. Noboru didn't know what to do. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and, after a few seconds, she stopped crying. He tried to push her away but she still wouldn't move. Noboru gave up and fell asleep.

_Noboru woke up hours later. The ANBU was nowhere in sight. He was angry. No one even tried to save his mom. He had deep gashes on his arms and legs. He had a kunai wound on his face that was still bleeding. His hair was soaked in blood, just like his hands. Tears poured down his face. He had no relatives to turn to. He looked up at the sky as it started to rain. He tried to move from where he was but pain shot through him and he coughed up blood. He just realized that he had been hit by a kunai in hi chest. The ANBU could've at least taken him to a hospital. He looked around for anyone that would just happen to pass by. He saw a few people, but they walked right by. Only one stopped. Noboru's vision blurred. The last thing he saw was a pair of white eyes._

"Umm, Noboru, sorry to wake you but…LET GO OF ME!"


	6. NOTICE

Ok, I keep hearing the same thing over and over again: It's too confusing! Listen, I know it's confusing. Well, to some people. We all have different points of view. I instantly understand fanfictions that most won't understand. My mind is just complicated, I'm really sorry I just don't see what's not to understand. I like secrets in fan fictions that make it more interesting, others like to know every little detail that goes on. I, personally, hate that. I like suspense. Anyways, if you have questions, ask away. I'll explain everything that you want to know. PLUS, I know that everyone knows who Noboru's father is! That doesn't mean that Noboru has to know! Also, I'll have to make the chapters more slowly now, I've been really busy with school work, church, family, ect. Well, remember if anyone has any questions, ask away. I'll answer them sooner or later. Thanks for the reviews!

Icy(Keily)


	7. The restaurant incident

Noboru slowly opened his eyes. At first his eyes blurred out the image. Although soon enough he finally saw why Anri was yelling at him. He had his arms in an iron grip around her waist. She had her hands on his chest, trying to push herself away from him.

Both of them blushed as he quickly let go of his grip around her. Anri stood up and brushed herself off. "What the heck did you think you were doing?" she snapped. Noboru was about to speak but someone just had to interrupt. "Lee-sensei! Wake up!" Naoto yelled. Lee slowly opened his eyes.

A grin spread over Lee's face. He jumped up and packed all of his supplies and said, "Let's go!" They all sweat-dropped. "Um…Lee-sensei? Could you wait for us to pack our stuff?" Anri said. Lee sighed and nodded.

Anri picked up her bag and yelled up to where Akana was. "Akana!" Akana barked and jumped into Anri's arms. Noboru took his time while Naoto struggled to get his sleeping bag packed.

When they had finally gotten packed, they started walking again. They walked for what seemed like hours. Anri stopped for a second and sniffed the air. She took the lead again. "Which village are we heading for?" Naoto asked.

Lee looked at him. "In the direction we are going, Otogakure (Village Hidden in the Sound)." Naoto gulped. "Do not worry, we will run into smaller villages on the way there." Naoto sighed. Anri looked back at them. "We're almost to a village. The sound ninja most likely decided to rest there for a while." She looked ahead and kept running.

For a few hours they kept running until they came to a small village. They hesitated, but walked into it. The village wasn't too crowded, but it would still be hard for Anri to sniff out the ninja. Lee instantly ran to the nearest restaurant to celebrate. "This isn't a good time to celebrate," Noboru said. Lee grinned. Noboru sweat-dropped. Lee wasn't really celebrating, he was just hungry. They left Akana outside and went inside a restaurant.

Lee looked at them and said, "What do you want to eat?" Naoto started yelling, "RAMEN! RAMEN! RAMEN!" Lee nodded and Naoto sat back down. "Unadon," Anri said in a bored voice. Noboru thought for a bit. "Nikujaga." (A/N: Unadon-grilled eel coated with a sweet sauce, Nikujaga-beef and potato stew, flavoured with sweet soy) Lee ordered curry.

When they got their drinks, Anri stayed silent. Lee started drinking his water. Someone in the restaurant yelled, "Hey! I wanted sake, not water!" When Lee drank his water he slowly sunk down in his seat.

"Lee-sensei?" Naoto asked with a curious look. Noboru picked up the "water" and sniffed it. He made a disgusted face. "Sake?" Lee suddenly stood up and proceeded to desroy the restaurant. Naoto and Noboru looked on in horror. Anri glanced at Lee and then looked back out of the window. Screams were heard out through the restaurant. Noboru threw a few senbon at Lee's pressure points, but Lee dodged them. Lee kicked Noboru and sent him flying. Noboru hit a wall and was knocked out.

Lee kicked over the table the table that Anri was sitting at. Her green tea poured all over her head. She turned her attention to Lee and shot him a death glare.

She stood up. "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CATCH THE SOUND NINJA'S SCENT WHEN I'M COVERED IN GREEN TEA?" Naoto sweat-dropped. _I thought she was gonna complain about her hair._ "YOU JUST HAD TO GET DRUNK DIDN'T YOU?" Anri yelled. Lee looked at her. "I'M NOT DRUNK!" he yelled back.

He punched her in the stomach and ended up knocking her out. Naoto gulped. It was up to him to stop Lee's drunken rampage._ If they can't stop him…he'll KILL me! _Naoto took out a kunai and was about throw it when…CRASH! Lee fell onto a table and started snoring. Naoto sweat-dropped. "Sensei?" _What the heck? What a waste of time._

"Hey, kid! Get the hell outta my restaurant!" a man yelled. He glared at Naoto. "Take that idiot and your two friends with you!" Naoto glared at him until he took butcher knife and started walking towards him. Naoto gulped and dragged Noboru and Anri out of the restaurant. The man threw Lee towards Naoto. "Next time I see you I'll slice you up and feed you to my dog." He nodded towards a huge wolf-like dog chained to a tree. It snapped a bone in half and looked like it was grinning. Naoto gulped and nodded. "Hai(yes), sir." The man walked back into the restaurant.

Naoto looked at his unconcious teammates and sleeping sensei. _What am I supposed to do now? _He sat down and stared at them. _I didn't know sensei was such a light drinker. It was just one sip. _He took out a kunai and started sharpening it. _I wouldn't have to be on a B-Rank mission if it wasn't for this stupid war. _"Why are we out here?" Naoto turned to look at Noboru who was slowly sitting up. "Sensei got us kicked out." Noboru clutched his head in pain. "Well of course we got kicked out. Not only did he throw two of his students gainst a wall, he also...DESTROYED THE PLACE!" He yelled.

Naoto and Noboru turned to see Anri sitting up. "Yuck!" She held her nose. "We're not going to a restaurant for a long time." Noboru nodded, still clutching his head. "Who's carrying Sensei to a hotel?" Naoto asked. Anri and Noboru looked at each other and stood up. "You," they both said. They started walking off. "HEY! NEXT TIME YOU TWO ARE UNCONCIOUS I'LL JUST LET THAT GUY BUTCHER YOU AND FEED YOU TO HIS DOG!" Naoto yelled. "Whatever," Anri said and smirked. Akana jumped onto her head and barked.

After Naoto had finally succeeded in dragging Lee to the hotel, Anri and Noboru tarted to walk in. "Wait! We shouldn't go to a hotel! You know why?" Naoto asked. Anri and Noboru looked at him and yelled, "NO!" Naoto ignored them and continued. "Well, anyways, my father and I went to this hotel when we where traveling to Suna. There was this couple on their honeymoon in a room next to us and" Anri covered her ears and Noboru twitched. "SHUT UP!" they both yelled. Naoto blinked, but obeyed them.

When they got into their hotel room, They threw Lee on a queen-sized bed. They looked around. The only places to sleep were: 1. Next to Lee, 2. On the couch, 3. On one twin-sized bed. They looked at eachother. "Twin bed!" Anri yelled and jumped on the bed. "Couch!" Naoto yelled, but he saw that Noboru was sitting on it. "I called it!" Naoto yelled. Lee sat up. "Are you all arguing about where to sleep?" His eyes sparkled. "I know how to settle this!" He opened his bag and took out a sheet of paper and ripped it into four sections. He took out a pencil and started writing. Then he folded the bits of paper up and passed them out.

He looked at Naoto. "What did you get?" Naoto replied, "Twin bed! YES!" He jumped on the bed with an idiotic grin. Noboru spoke up. "Queen bed." He frowned. That meant he'd have to share a bed with someone. Anri's eyes widened when Lee read his paper. "Couch." He jumped onto the couch and instantly fell asleep.

Anri and Noboru stared at eachother in disgust. They were interrupted by Naoto's snoring. They gave up on glaring at eachother and finally crawled into the bed. They tried to stay as far away from eachother as possible with Akana at the foot of the bed.

Noboru couldn't sleep. It wasn't just the fact that Naoto and Lee were snoring, It was the fact that Anri couldn't stay still. She had kicked him several times and he couldn't get over the pain. Now he was trying to ignore the blush creeping over his face.

She had her head on his chest and was snuggled up to his side. Whenever he tried to push her away, she would kick him and whimper. _I'm never sleeping near her again. _

"Why are you awake?" Noboru frowned. "You kept me awake." Anri smirked. "Do somethng besides stare at me." A nervous smile spread over his face. "Gomen(sorry)."

She shivered. "It's so cold in here." She moved closer to him. "I'm freezing." He looked at her. "It's not cold in here. Are you ok?" She looked at him. Her hair covered half of her pale face. "Yeah."

She put her head on his chest and whispered, "I know that you've liked me for years. I feel the same way, but…I'm not sure what ninja's in love leads to. Most likely death. I'm sorry, it probaly won't work out."

She moved away from him. She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. Noboru had a shocked expression. He had completely ignored the last part of her confession.

A/N-Sorry, I won't be updating as quick as I used to. I have to think up new ideas, plus school's started.


	8. Surprise!

Noboru woke up to find everyone gone. Well, almost everyone. Naoto was still snoring. Noboru quickly got out of bed and started getting ready. As soon as he was ready, he left the hotel to find his sensei and other teammate.

He found them standing near the gates. Akana was sitting on Anri's head. Anri looked like she was about to tear someone apart. "Damn, Naoto should learn about his bloodline limit. My nose can't catch every scent," she said in an angry tone.

She turned around and glared at Noboru. "Don't just stand there, help us out!" she snapped. Suddenly, she stopped and sniffed the air. "Found him," she whispered, "He's in the forest ahead of us." She ran off towards the forest and disappeared between the trees. Noboru and Lee heard a scream and quickly followed her.

When they found her, she had a kunai in her shoulder and her fangs were sunk in the sound ninja's arm. She ripped the flesh on his arm and blood poured out. The sound-nin screamed in pain. He backed away and fell facedown. Anri drove a kunai into his back.

"Never try to escape Konoha," she hissed. She tied his hands and legs and backed away. "Mission complete," she whispered. She pulled the kunai out of her shoulder and started walking away.

Noboru glared at her. _Show-off. How come I can't ever help take down sound-nins?_

He looked at the sound ninja. Blood poured out of his arm and he was flinching in pain. Noboru stared at all the blood. He flinched at the sight.

Lee walked over to the Sound-nin and picked him up. He started to walk off. Noboru ran after him.

On their way to the hotel, they saw the restaurant they got kicked out of (No thanks to Lee). They scanned it and noticed that the owner's huge dog wasn't there. They kept walking. In the distance they heard a scream.

They ran towards the scream and ended up back out in the woods. They saw Naoto clinging to a tree branch and screaming.

Anri was sitting next to the owner's dog, petting its fur. She was whispering to it and with every word she said, the dog wagged its bushy tail. Anri ran her hand over the dog's fur and head. She took her hand off of it and looked at her hand. It was covered in blood.

"Poor girl. Did that man hurt you?" she said. The dog looked at her with trusting eyes. The dog had a rope collar that was crushing its neck. Anri moved her hands towards the collar and quickly untied the not on the back of her neck.

The dog, now being able to breathe better, licked her and kept wagging its tail. She turned to see Noboru and Lee and stood in front of Anri, growling. "It's ok, girl," Anri said soothingly.

Naoto jumped down from the tree. He whispered to no one in particularly, "Please don't keep it. Please don't keep it. Please don't keep it…"

"I'm keeping her. She ran away. When a dog runs away from abuse, it seeks freedom," Anri said. Lee nodded. "We have to get back to the village," he said. Anri decided to call the dog Kaminari.

They went to the hotel, packed their stuff, and set off. Lee was still carrying the Sound ninja. Apparently, Kaminari had been a ninken before it became a pet. It was hopping through the trees like it was no problem at all.

After a few days, they finally got back to Konoha. Lee immediately went to the Hokage Tower, Anri went home to show her dad Kaminari, Naoto ran after Lee, and Noboru went to the Hyuuga Mansion.

When he arrived, Neji was talking to the woman Noboru had met when Neji's wife died. "Hanabi, you're going to have to talk to Shikamaru if you want to help out with the Exams."

Noboru POV

Exams? What Exams? I kept listening, but they didn't mention what the exams were about, so I left. I ran upstairs to my room. I locked the door behind me.

I still didn't understand. Exams? I kept thinking about them until I slowly drifted to sleep.

In the morning, Naoto and I walked to Anri's house. We knocked on the door and waited for her. Her Aunt Hana opened the door and called for her to come downstairs.

Normal POV

After a few minutes or so, she came down the steps with Akana on her head and Kaminari at her side. They walked to their usual meeting place, the training grounds.

The day went by like any other, Noboru breaking a training post in half, Naoto being chased up a tree by Kaminari, and Anri practicing Gatsuuga with both of her dogs.

Three weeks went by until one day, Lee said that he had some exciting news. "Guess what? The Chuunin Exams are coming up next week and I have entered all of you!" he yelled. Anri looked shocked. "You didn't even ask us?" she said. Lee shook his head.

"What if we didn't want to be in the exams?" Anri yelled. Lee replied, "You're so full of youth! You must!"

Noboru POV

That's when I remembered. Chuunin Exams? The Exams? Those were the exams that Neji and Hanabi were talking about! I can't believe it! I'm going to be a Chuunin! That is, if I pass.

That night, I couldn't sleep. I stayed up all night thinking about the exams. They would be next week. The only countries that weren't invited were the Sound and the Rock.

The Kazekage would be there for the preliminary (if there were any) and the final matches. We didn't get to meet him when he came here a few weeks ago because we were too busy.

He was famous, just like Neji. I bet he's a jerk too. Lee said that he once fought him. He lost of course, who couldn't when the guy uses sand to crush people?

Lee says he has red hair and a love kanji on his forehead. What a loser. I mean love?

I finally was able to sleep. It seemed like only a few seconds when I woke up and stared into white eyes.

"Finally, you're awake," Neji said, "I tried to wake you up to tell you some important news about fifty times." He seemed happy. Too happy.

I got out of bed after Neji left and got ready. I met Neji out in the Hyuuga training area. "What was the 'important' news?" I asked him. Neji just smiled. Wait, he smiled? He doesn't do that often.

"Sound ninjas haven't been killing all of our ninjas. Some are just hostages. Konoha ANBU are returning to Konoha. It's a weeklong journey from Otogakure but the ANBU said they'll bringas many Konoha ninja back as possible. They captured one of the enemy's camps," he said.

I couldn't believe it! "Does that mean my mom might be…alive?" I said. Neji nodded. I didn't care what happened to anyone else. Just please let her be okay!

"Also," Neji continued, "I want to teach you a few techniques. Might as well put that 'drop' of Hyuuga blood to good use." He smirked. I gave him an odd stare. Should I really let him teach me a few Hyuuga techniques?


	9. Stage 1 of the Chuunin Exams

Noboru-POV 

It's been two weeks since I agreed to train with Neji. I can't believe I said yes! Uchihas and Hyuugas are always so proud of their heritage and so ignorant of other people. I hope I don't turn out like them.

Neji and I have gotten a little closer. I don't hate him anymore. I pretty much see him as a friend.

As I repeatedly try to hit Neji with Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou, I can't help but wonder, when will they find my mom? Or is she already dead? I lose focus and Neji hits me.

I feel my back hit something hard. Oh, great, another tree. That's what's been happening to me all morning, hitting trees. Neji slaps his forehead. "Focus," he mutters.

I have to meet up with my team soon so I better hurry. If I could just hit him this one time. I get in the Hyuuga stance. "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou," I yell. I bring two fingers up towards his chest. "Two strikes!" I yell. He easily dodges them and trips me.

I fall face-first onto the hard ground. I stand back up. I taste something salty and metallic.

The Chuunin exams are tomorrow. I need to be prepared. I've only mastered Juuken and Kaiten, the easiest of the Hyuuga techniques. I'm going too slowly. I need to practice more.

Then I look back at Neji. He's holding his side. I actually hit him! Just barely, but I did! It may have seemed that he easily dodged it, but I never can see in the mornings.

I'm so tired. That's no good if my teammates will be here soon. Anri and I still get along ok, but we don't seem as close as we were before the Sound-nin came. Naoto and I argue a lot, but we're still best friends.

I hear talking in distance and a few yips. I better hurry. I wave to Neji, who's already about to walk inside the Hyuuga Mansion, and run towards the voice.

Anri is smiling for the first time in weeks. Kaminari stood next to her. She didn't have any scars or wounds, probably Hana's work. I looked back at Anri. Naoto and Lee were nowhere in sight. I thought- oh, she must have been speaking to her dogs.

I looked at her with a confused stare. She grabbed my arm and started dragging me off. "What are you doing?" I said. She giggled and replied, "You'll see."

We stopped at the entrance to Konoha Hospital. She told her two dogs to stay and dragged me inside. She walked to the front desk and whispered something to the nurse. She nodded and pointed down the hallway. I was so confused. Why the heck were we in this hospital?

She stopped at a door and knocked. A cheery voice rang out, "Come in!"

Anri turned the knob and opened the door. She let go of my arm and sat down in one of the chairs. I was about to sit down too, but the pink-haired nurse grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the person on the hospital bed.

I yanked my arm away from her. I looked at the person. Who was this?

Her long, brown hair covered most of her face. She wasn't unconscious, but asleep. I moved some of the hair out of her face.

It was covered with cuts and bruises. It made me shudder. I felt sorry for her, but why did everyone look so happy? I studied her facial features and raised my eyebrow. Who was it?

Sakura walked over to me and tapped my shoulder. She pointed over to a chair. I looked at it and saw a ripped scroll with bloodstains on it. My eyes widened. I felt a tear run down my face.

I looked back at the person and walked towards her. I studied her facial features more closely. I threw my arms around her, or as close as I could get my arms around her, and sobbed. I couldn't believe it!

I smiled as I sobbed. "You're home," I whispered, "Mom."

She halfway opened her eyes. She was too weak to speak, but she could move some. She ran her fingers through my hair. I was shocked to see her like this, but I was still glad.

She closed her eyes again. I moved away to let her sleep. Sakura came up behind me and whispered, "She'll be ok. For about two weeks, it would be a bad idea for her to do anything. She was poisoned a few days ago. She was tortured to tell more about Konoha's weaknesses. She kept her mouth shut and they decided to go ahead and kill her. Luckily, an ANBU ninja found her, and brought her back just in time. It would be wise to let her sleep for a while. No talking, walking, standing, the basics."

I nodded. Anri tapped my arm and nodded towards the door and we walked away.

When we got out of the hospital, I felt more tears fall down my face. Of course Sakura said that she would be ok, but nurses always speak in sugarcoated words. I mean, poison? What if she died?

I felt someone's arms wrap around me. "She'll be ok," Anri said. Her voice was choked up. Was she crying?

After a few minutes or so, we walked to the training grounds. Lee and Naoto were already there. We spent the rest of the day practicing our techniques, and then we all tiredly walked home. Naoto and I were covered in cuts and bruises. We needed a long time to rest, but that wasn't going to happen.

When we got home, Hinata scolded us and made us take off our shirts so she could heal us. When she was finished, she instantly rushed us off to bed. Naoto went to what was normally his room when he wasn't at the Hokage Tower. I walked up to my room and changed into a t-shirt and shorts. I jumped onto my bed and fell asleep.

When morning came, I got up, took a shower, got dressed, and brushed my hair and teeth. I picked up one of my mom's old weapon scrolls and started and walked downstairs. Naoto was standing there impatiently. "Come on! We're going to be late!" he yelled. He ran out the door.

I glanced at a clock. We had a whole hour, what was the big rush? I yawned and ran after him. He must have been in a hurry. I couldn't see him anywhere.

I hated the fact that I was more than a 'drop' of Hyuuga blood, but I would have to live with it. Right now, I needed the Hyuuga's Kekkai Genkai (bloodline limit), Byakugan. I had accidentally activated it last week, and I haven't been able to use it since.

I focused as best as I could, and- nothing. I sighed and kept running. I heard dogs barking. Found him.

I finally caught sight of him. He was sitting on the ground. Anri stood over him, glaring. "Why are you in such a hurry? The Exam's in an hour! We have plenty of time!"

Naoto looked stupidly at her. He looked at his watch. "My watch must be wrong. It says that we have only five minutes."

Anri slapped her forehead. "Loser," she muttered. I nodded in agreement.

"How far do you think we'll get in the exams?" Naoto asked. Anri turned to glare at him. "It depends on if you stop goofing off and actually try to help us."

I watched Naoto as he hid behind me. I chuckled. "Scared?" I whispered. Naoto nodded.

People, like Anri, used to say those kinds of things to me. After I became a genin, I stopped playing pranks on people. It seemed boring.

We started walking again and stopped by Ichiraku Ramen. Anri and I were too nervous to eat, but Naoto ate about five bowls. We had to pull him away to get to the Academy on time.

After talking to a few people, we went to one of the Academy's rooms. I froze. It was filled with people. They stared at us as we walked in.

Of course they would stare at us! They're trying to intimidate us! I shrugged it off and walked to one of the corners of the room. Anri stood next to me and nudged me. I looked at her. She was looking straight ahead, eyes scanning the room. "A lot of competition," she whispered. I nodded.

I cloud of smoke appeared at the other end of the room. Five people were standing on either side of a woman with blonde hair (ten people in all, not including the woman). The woman's blonde hair was tied back in four ponytails. She took a large fan off her back and set it down on the floor. She turned to everyone and grinned.

"My name is Nara Temari, and I'll be your first examiner," she said. Nara? I looked around the room. The two Naras were standing next to each other. One was muttering something, while the other was grinning just like Temari.

"This is a written test. You have exactly thirty minutes to complete the test. Your grade will be decided based on your whole team's scores. I will ask the tenth question after the test."

Everyone took their seats. The papers were already at the desks. Temari started to explain the rules. "These ninjas will be watching your every move, so no cheating! Also, if one person fails, his or her entire team fails." she said, nodding to the 10 people who took their seats, "If you are caught five times, you fail! Also, remember, these are elite jounins. They can see your every move. Be careful."

She looked at the clock. "Begin," she said calmly. I didn't hear any pencils writing. I only heard people shifting in confusion. I bit my lip. These questions were too hard! I looked around.

Cheating. Cheating. Cheating. No- Cheating. Ugh! What am I supposed to do. I'm a genius and all, but these questions were beyond me.

Normal-POV

10 minutes later…

Anri sighed. She already figured it out that she was supposed to cheat. She had a few ideas, but it came down to Akana yipping the answers to her. She sat on Anri's head and looked around the room for answers.

Inomaru and Choukata appeared to be sleeping, but really had used Shintenshin on the two people that had the answers so far, Kozakura and Samaru.

Tami scribbled furiously on her paper, as her brother sat at his desk, waiting for the answers that Inomaru would pass to him. Yoshi and Naoto had activated their Byakugan and looked in front of them at people that had the answers. Naoto's Byakugan was at least strong enough to see the answers, and, luckily, when it came to tests he had his mom's smarts.

Isamu and Ginama were both slowly writing down answers. They acted so calm, that it made Noboru jealous.

Noboru focused as hard as he could, but he couldn't activate the Byakugan. Finally, he managed to get it to work for about a minute, but that was all he needed. He scribbled down answers as fast as he could.

After about 30 minutes, 20 out of the 40 teams that entered the exams were eliminated. Temari spoke up, "Time's up. I will now ask the final question." Her eyes scanned the room.

"Those who do not wish to answer the final question may leave. If one person from a team leaves, the whole team fails. So, who wants to stay, and who doesn't?" Temari said. The room felt hot and stuffy.

Noboru tapped his pencil as he watched teams get up and walk away. He yawned. No pressure. 15 teams left. 14. 13. 12. 11.

Temari grinned. "Anyone else?" she asked. Everyone stared at her. Temari nodded. "You all pass."

Noboru dropped his pencil. Anri's serious expression turned to a confused one. Naoto's head hit his desk repeatedly. That wasn't going to help him. The only ones that were calm were the Naras and Inomaru.

"What was the tenth question?" Choukata yelled. Inomaru laughed. "Hey, idiot, that was the tenth question," he said.

Choukata glared at her brother. "Jerk," she muttered under her breath. Inomaru shrugged and looked around the room. He caught the gaze of a certain pink-haired girl and winked. Kozakura blushed.

Inomaru looked at her brother who was holding up a sign that said: "As soon as we get out of the room, you're dead." Inomaru gulped.

"I hope you all figured out what this test was designed for. Gathering information and dealing with situations that cause a lot of stress. One more thing." She threw a kunai at Tami's desk. "WAKE UP TAMI!" she yelled. Tami slowly lifted her head and yawned.

"Now then," Temari was cut off by a door being knocked down. She sighed. Early. "Am I late?" a frantic voice said. Her black hair fell in front of her white eyes.

"Hanabi, your fifteen minutes early," Temari said. Hanabi sighed in relief. "Whew, I thought I was late." She turned to the kids that were giving her odd stares. "I am Hyuuga Hanabi. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the next exam site."


	10. Chuunin Exams Stage 2 & 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the lullaby Oyasumi

Noboru-POV

It took about 30 minutes for Hanabi to explain the second part of the exams. It sounded boring. The name of the forest was especially lame. The Forest of Death? You've got to be kidding me! Anri's holding on to our scroll right now, an earth scroll.

Hanabi stood in the center of the small field. She raised her hand. "Ready…GO!" she yelled. The gates opened and everyone ran out.

Normal POV-Samaru, Tami, Yoshi

Samaru stopped his team in a small clearing. "Yoshi, try to find anyone that has a heaven scroll." Yoshi nodded. "Byakugan!" She stood still, eyes searching everywhere. She pointed to their left. "That way," she said.

Samaru grinned. "Anyone we know?" Yoshi shook her head as she ran ahead, leading them to where the scroll was.

Kozakura, Ginama, Isamu

Isamu twirled a kunai as he walked. Kozakura groaned. "Can't we go faster?" she yelled. He stopped to look at her. "We're letting an earth scroll come to us. Just be patient." Kozakura slapped her forehead.

Ginama looked around carefully. Then focused her attention on the two walking ahead of her. She was basically only good at taijutsu and genjutsu so those two would have to do most of the fighting. Suddenly, a kunai flew out of a nearby bush and scratched her face.

Shikaro, Choukata, Inomaru

"This is too troublesome. I can't believe I agreed to this." Choukata turned around. "Stop your complaining, Shikaro!" she yelled. Shikaro sighed. He hated to be in the same area as her.

Inomaru turned to look at his sister. "Shut-up," he said plainly, "Shikaro's the genius. Let him decide what to do." Shikaro shrugged. "Search the area." They split up in different directions.

Anri, Noboru, Naoto

Noboru's Byakugan was activated. He searched everywhere as he jumped from tree to tree. Anri and Naoto followed him. Naoto had his Byakugan activated, but it didn't help much. Noboru stopped. "Wait. I think I see something." He looked down into a clearing, the tree branches concealing him.

Three Rain ninja were walking through the clearing, carefully scanning the area. Anri smirked. "Let me handle this." She disappeared through the brush. Kaminari followed her, while Akana stood next to Naoto.

Noboru landed on the ground below, careful not to make a sound. He wasn't going to let Anri handle these guys alone. Kaminari jumped out of a bush and ripped one of the ninja's throats open. Blood soaked her coal-black fur. A wild look shone in her eyes and blood dripped from her white fangs.

The ninja instantly died and his teammates became alert. They leaped at Kaminari, but Anri jumped out of the brush and tackled one of them while Noboru struck the other one in the chest. Anri dug a kunai into one of the ninja's arms.

She pulled out the kunai and formed a seal. "I'm in no hurry," she said fiercely. Snakes seemed to come out of nowhere under her jacket sleeve and wrapped around the ninja's neck, suffocating him.

Noboru got in a stance. He prayed this would work. "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!" he yelled. He hit the man repeatedly. Two strikes. Four strikes. 8. 16. 32. "64 strikes!" the man fell over, coughing up blood. Noboru threw a kunai down and it stabbed his throat.

Naoto tapped his shoulder. "Found it," he said as he held up a heaven scroll. Noboru smiled. Anri wiped the blood off her arms. "We'll head to the tower as soon as I get this blood off me," she said. They headed off towards the tower, hoping to come across a river.

Samaru, Yoshi, Tami

Samaru activated his Sharingan. He had mastered it years ago, so this was no problem. He foresaw the ninja he was currently fighting's attacks. He stabbed the ninja with a kunai and, with a quick jerk, broke his neck.

Tami formed a certain seal. "Kagemane no Jutsu!" She captured one of the ninjas. She formed another seal while maintaining her hold on the ninja. "Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu!" Part of the shadow turned into a hand and slivered up to the ninja's throat, and proceeded to choke him to death.

Yoshi hit one of the ninjas in their chest and they coughed up blood. Blood continously poured from their mouth. Tami let go of her hold on the now dead ninja that she was fighting. Samaru picked up a blood-covered scroll. "Let's go," he said, smirking.

Kozakura, Ginama, Isamu

"Chidori!" Isamu struck one of the ninja's they were fighting in the chest with the move his father, Hatake Kakashi, had taught him.

Ginama put her hands together to form a seal. "Jubaku Satsu!" She slowly vanished as a tree seemed to come up out of nowhere and part of it reached out to bind one of the ninjas to it. She seemed to come out of the tree as she held a kunai up to the ninja's throat and sliced it. She winced at the blood and released the body from her illusion.

Kozakura's Sharingan didn't need to be activated, because Isamu finished off the last ninja by stabbing it with a kunai. She looked disapointed. Her dark green eyes shone fiercely. Shbe twirled her finger in her red hair and said, "You could've at least saved one for me." He shook his head. "Not a chance." He licked some of the blood off his kunai, a trait that he picked up from his mother, Hatake Anko.

Ginama tapped her foot impatiently. "Let's get going!" She held up the earth scroll and turned to start walking towards the tower.

Shikaro, Choukata, Inomaru

Shikaro held up a heaven scroll. "That wasn't too bad. Next time, maybe you guys could help some more," he snapped. Inomaru panted. "Shinranshin isn't that easy to control. It almost backfired on me." Choukata looked at her bloody hands. "Ewww…I need a shower. I want out of this forest!" she yelled. Shikaro shook his head. He may be lazy, but when it came to battles, he was just as impatient as his mother.

That night, Anri, Noboru, and Naoto decided to stop and rest. Once the other two were asleep, memories came flooding back to Anri. She decided to make herself go to sleep with and old lullaby that her mother used to sing. It was not of her culture, but of a culture that existed far away from here. Tears ran down her face as she sang in a choked voice,

"Nighttime has come,  
Gone is the sun,  
Dream sky is spun,  
Stars one by one… Oyasumi… hush my love,  
Oyasumi… hush my love,   
Oyasumi… hush my love,  
Hush, hush and hush.."

She curled up and cried herself to sleep.

FLASHBACK

"Mom, I'm scared. It's so dark in here," five-year-old Anri whimpered. Her mother smiled and embraced her. "Listen Anri, the darkness is nothing. It may seem scary, but it can't hurt you. It can only intimidate you."

Her mother looked out the window. "See. The moon is watching you. The darkness is a bay. As long as the moon is around, you have nothing to fear." Anri was still scared. Her mother could sense it. In a gentle, sweet voice she sang a lullaby until Anri fell asleep. The last thing she heard was her father saying, "Azami. I need to talk to you."

FLASHBACK

Anri woke up, beads of sweat ran down her face, along with tears. Noboru was looking at her. "Are you ok?" he asked. She nodded and stood up.

3 days later…

The only teams that had survived, were the rookies. The time limit was shorter this year because of all the ninjas needed in the war. The exams had to go by quickly. Choukata and Kozakura gave up before the battles started. They said they didn't feel like it after being soaked with blood.

The preliminary rounds would now start. All of their senseis stood near the Hokage as the rules were explained. The rules were explained with no questions asked. Shiranui Genma was the new examiner.

The first match came up on a large board. Akimichi Inomaru vs. Nara Tami. They both stepped up. Genma looked at both of them. "Ready? Begin," he said as he stepped back.

Tami smirked as she opened her fan. "Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" She swung her fan and a large gust of air flew towards Inomaru and he jumped out of the way. He looked at her angrily. She tried to kill him.

He threw a kunai at her, but she caught it and flung it back. It scratched his face. Blood dripped onto the floor. He formed a seal. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Tami got out of the way and flung six kunai at him. He carefully dodged each of them, unaware of her plan.

As he turned, his face met a gust of wind. Tami smirked. This match was basically over. After a few seconds, he fell out of the whirlwind and landed on the hard floor with a sickening thud. Choukata, who had stayed to watched, watched with a look of horror. "Inomaru!" she yelled.

Genma walked over to him. He was knocked out. Genma held up his hand. "Winner, Nara Tami." He looked at the smirking girl. 'I wonder how much this will be like the Rookie Nine's battles,' he thought.

The med-nins took Inomaru out on a stretcher as the next match appeared up on the screen. Hyuuga Yoshi vs. Noboru.

Noboru jumped down as Tami walked up to stand next to her brother. Yoshi took her time to walk down. Genma looked at them. The faces he saw were Neji and Hinata's. He shook his head. "Begin."

Noboru got in a stance. Yoshi did to, but not in time. Noboru hit her. Two strikes. Four strikes. 8. 16. 32. 64. He hit her again and she slammed into the stone wall, blood running down her chin. Noboru didn't give her a time to react. He hit her in her arm, blocking her chakra. Her eyes widened, but she hit him in his stomach.

He held his stomach, but threw a few kunai at her, pinning her to the wall. A shuriken sliced into each of her arms as she tried to pull free. Noboru hit her with Juuken repeatedly, until she passed out.

He stepped back. "Sorry," he whispered, "That's the way life is." Genma raised his arm. "Winner, Noboru." Noboru walked up to stand next to Anri. She smiled. "Nice job. Although, you still won't win when you face me." He raised an eyebrow, but still smiled.

The next match was Uchiha Samaru vs. Uzumaki Naoto. This would be interesting. Samaru activated his Sharingan. He formed a seal. "Katon, Gokakyu no Jutsu!" A fireball came rushing towards Naoto. He jumped away, but still got his leg burnt.

Naoto formed a few seals. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" 9 clones of Naoto appeared and circled Samaru, each standing at different angles. "Shihohappo Shuriken!" Each of the clones, plus Naoto, threw shuriken at Samaru from different angles.

Samaru tried his hardest to dodge all of the shuriken. The clones repeatedly threw shuriken. Finally, they stopped. Samaru had been pierced with ten shuriken in both his back and arms. He watched blood gush out of his arms. If he didn't finish Naoto off soon, he would pass out.

He formed a few seals. "Katon, Gokakyu no Jutsu!" A blast of fire hit Naoto's clones and they disappeared. Then, it hit Naoto in the back. He had turned around to block it, but it was too strong. He fell in pain, the burns were serious. He tried to stand up, but something hit his head and he passed out.

Samaru smirked. Easier than he thought. Genma looked at Naoto. "Winner, Uchiha Samaru." Samaru walked back up into the stands and stood next to Kozakura. She knew a few healing techniques and tried her best to heal the depp gashes in his arms.

Anri looked around. There were only three people that she might fight. Ginama, Isamu, and Shikaro. She looked up at the screen. Hatake Isamu vs. Inuzuka Anri. She jumped down and waited for Isamu. He jumped down and looked at her.

She smirked. Kaminari stood next to her while Akana stayed up in the stands. Genma looked at both of them. "Begin." Isamu formed a few seals. "Chidori!" He held his hand down and a ball of electricity formed in his hand. He charged at Anri. She stood there and grinned. "Kanashibari no Jutsu(temporary paralysis technique)!" Isamu stopped, paralyzed. He glared at her.

She formed a few seals. "Jujin Bunshin!" She got down on all fours. Dog-like fangs grew and her nails became claw-like. Kaminari was transformed into a clone of her.

"Gatsuuga!" They both spun in a fast speed and directly hit Isamu. After one hit, they repeated the technique. Kaminari turned back into her regular form and ripped Isamu's arm. He could move now, but he couldn't move the arm that Kaminari had bitten.

Anri came up behind him and stabbed him with a kunai in his shoulder. Now he couldn't move either of his arms. He spun around and kicked her in her stomach, which slammed her against the stone wall. Kaminari came up behind him and broke one of his legs.

He fell and hit the ground. Anri formed a few more seals, she wasn't finished yet. Isamu shuddered violently. Genma looked at him in horror. He looked at Anri. "This match is over. Winner, Inuzuka Anri." Anri put her hands down and Isamu stopped shuddering.

The med-nins rushed over to Isamu and put him on a stretcher. When Anri got back up into the stands Lee and Noboru gave her odd looks. "What the heck did you do to him?" Noboru asked.

Anri looked at him. "I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I was told never to use that. It was supposed to be a last resort. I don't know what came over me."

The final match was beginning. Nara Shikaro vs. Sarutobi Ginama. Genma stepped back. "Begin." Ginama put her hands together to form a seal. "Jubaku Satsu!" She started to vanish but Shikaro put his hands together. "Kai!" he yelled and Ginama's illusion vanished.

She focused directly on him. She threw a kunai at him. Well, she started to when his shadow caught hold of her. He smirked. "You can't just focus on me," he said. He formed a different seal. "Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu!" Part of his shadow took the shape of a hand and reached for her neck.

She starting running out of air and passed out. Genma looked at them and smiled. "Winner, Nara Shikaro." Shikaro stepped back. That was too easy. He stood in the arena while Kiba jumped down and took Ginama back up into the stands.

Genma looked around. "The five of you that won, come down here." Tami, Samaru, Noboru, Anri, and Shikaro jumped down and looked at him. Naruto walked down from where he was watching the matches. Hanabi and Temari followed him.

"Congratulations on making it past the preliminary rounds. Now, if you'll all draw a number out of the bag that Temari's holding."

Temari walked around and each of the five drew a number. "Now, call out your number," Naruto said.

"4 Anri said. "2 Samaru said. "5" Shikaro said. "3" Tami said. "1" Noboru said.

Naruto smiled. "Now, you will see who you will face in the actual matches." Hanabi held up a board. Samaru vs. Shikaro. Anri vs. Tami. Tami/Anri vs. Shikaro.

The five genins seemed unamazed. They were told that they had one month to prepare. As they walked away with their senseis, Naruto couldn't help but grin. "This is going to be interesting," he said.

A/N- Like I said before, I don't have much time to write this. I kind of got the second and third parts of the exam over with because I wasn't very interested in them. The next chapter is when they're training; I'll try to put more detail in the final rounds and training. Well, please R&R!


	11. What went on in those four weeks

Neji-POV

One week until the final part of the exams. Noboru visits Tenten every day, and she's getting a lot better. She still can't speak or move, side affects of the poison. Noboru seems happier than he has been in a long time.

I'm training with him right now. I'm still wondering about the conversation we had a week ago.

FLASHBACK-Normal POV

Noboru and Neji sat on the training grounds, exhausted from training so hard. Neji looked up at the sky. "Neji, did you know him? I mean, my father?" Noboru asked. Neji looked at him. "Yes. In fact, there's something you need to know."

Naoto ran out of the mansion. "Noboru! You have to see this! Samaru teased Kozakura and she's kicking his ass!" he yelled. Noboru looked at Neji. "What were you going to say?" he asked.

Neji shook his head. "Never mind." Noboru ran off.

FLASHBACK-Neji POV

I can't believe I didn't tell him. He should've guessed by now. I guess he's blind to the fact that his father has been around all his life.

Tenten and I were told never to tell. It would've destroyed the balance we tried to maintain with the Iwagakure. My 'fake' wife couldn't know about my son. Her father would've attacked us sooner. That's no longer important now. The war has been going on for a few years. I was told to kill my wife.

I gladly had accepted the mission, thinking that I could live with my actual wife forever. I'm scared of Noboru's reaction. What if he hates me because I didn't tell him? It was for political reasons, but still, he may not understand.

No one in the village knew, except for Tenten, Hinata, Hanabi, Naruto, Tsunade, and me. I should tell him, but I'm still scared to. Ouch! He hit me in my stomach! I need to focus.

Normal POV

Neji clutched his stomach in pain. Memories and plans always caught him off guard. Noboru got out of his stance. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Hinata watched them from a window and walked outside. "Noboru, why don't you come in for a second? Neji has an errand to run for me," she said warmly. Noboru ran inside while Hinata walked over to Neji.

"Go get these herbs from Sakura. Yoshi needs round-the-clock care currently," she said. She handed a list to Neji and walked inside.

Noboru was sitting at a table, drinking Hinata's famous green tea. She sat down, poured herself a cup of tea and smiled at Noboru. "You're still wondering about your father? He's still alive. That much is certain. Also, you've seen him recently."

Noboru looked up. "Really? Do you know who he is?" he asked eagerly. Hinata nodded, but frowned. "I'm afraid that it's his job to tell you that," she said. She stood up and walked towards Yoshi's room.

Noboru frowned. No one would tell him!

Anri's Training

Anri's fist came in contact with a training post and it snapped in half. Anri stepped back, out of breath. That was the fifth one today. She pulled up her sleeve to rub a bad bruise that she had gotten earlier. It wasn't the bruise that hurt, it was who hit her.

Isamu had been in a coma for three weeks. He woke up today and she planned on seeing him. She looked over at Akana happily barking at a few birds that flew overhead. Kaminari was working on her speed.

Anri stood still for a second. "Are you ok?" a voice asked. She turned to see Akito. "Yeah, of course!" He smiled. "Do you think that you'll make it through the exams?" he asked. She nodded. "Of course."

He looked at her uncertainly. "I heard that you used 'that' move on an opponent in the preliminary rounds," he said. She looked down. "I'm sorry. I'm going to see him today and fix it."

He looked at her sternly. "Anri. You know that move's dangerous. You could easily kill someone. You broke his mental stability and he won't remember anything good for the next two weeks unless you fully heal him. It was your mother's belief that you wouldn't use that move, but you did. Listen, Anri, you're my cousin, and I care about you, and using that technique could also damage your stability and bring back an old bloodlust. You don't want that do you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again," she said. He walked away. She ran towards the hospital where Isamu was.

When she got to his room, he was shuddering and had a terrified look in his eyes. She walked towards him and brushed his face with her hand soothingly. He calmed down for a second. She formed a few seals and moved her hand towards his head, whispering soothing words to him. He calmed down even more, his breathing became steady and he stopped shuddering.

A black chakra formed around Anri's hand and she pressed her hand onto his head. He slowly fell asleep. She heard people walking towards the room.

The door opened to reveal Kakashi and Anko. Kakashi looked at her calmly. "Don't wake him up or his mental stability will collapse," Anri whispered. She walked out of the room, glad that she could at least help him.

Samaru's advice

Samaru had been learning how to use Chidori. This way, whenever he fought Noboru, he would be sure to win. This wasn't just over Anri, this was for honor. Or maybe it was for Anri. He constantly practiced.

Kozakura walked up to him. "You know, girls don't always like tough guys. They like understanding and caring guys. Let's face it, you aren't understanding or caring."

Samaru turned to face her. "What do you know? Just because you're a girl doesn't mean that you know anything about her," he snapped. Kozakura chuckled. "All girls like sweet guys that can still protect them," she said.

Samaru shook his head. "Go away!" he yelled. Kozakura stood up and walked off. Sakura walked out and stood next to him. "I overheard your conversation. Girl troubles? Kozakura's right about one thing. Girls love understanding and caring guys that will stand up for them. Also, don't focus on one girl. There might be someone out there that's perfect for you and you don't even notice her," she said as she stood up and walked back into the mansion. He pondered over what she had said, but eventually ignored it and continued training.

Tami's training…not really

Tami took a deep breath. She stood on her teammate's doorstep. Samaru's to be exact. She knocked on the door and heard footsteps coming towards the door. Sasuke opened the door and looked at her. "I-Is S-Samaru he-here?" she asked.

Sasuke looked up the steps and yelled, "Samaru! You have a guest!" Shuffling was heard from upstairs. Samaru came down the steps. His red hair was ruffled and his dark green eyes looked tired.

Sasuke stepped away and Samaru raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Tami?" he asked. Tami blushed. "I was wondering…would you like to go out some time?" she asked. Sakura was walking by, when suddenly she turned around and said, "He'd love to! In fact, why don't you come over here at sunset and have dinner with us!" she said.

Tami smiled and walked off. Samaru glared at Sakura, but she just smiled and said, "You'll thank me for this someday."

Sasuke, who had overheard, walked over to Samaru. "You might want to start getting ready. Or else your mother will pick out everything you wear," he said. Samaru quickly ran upstairs.

Tami stood on the front porch of the Uchiha Mansion. She was wearing a black kimono with a flame pattern on it. Her hair was down for once and she wore a silver chain on her neck with a small silver piece that had the kanji for peace on it. Her blonde hair made her brown eyes stand out.

She had been there carefully knocked on the door. She heard footsteps approaching and the door opened. It was Samaru. He wore casual tan shorts and a black jacket with the Uchiha symbol on the back.

She blushed slightly. He raised an eyebrow. "Come on in, I guess," he said. They went to the living room. "My mom's not finished with the food yet, so we'll have to wait for a bit," he said.

She smiled. "So, umm…how far do you think we'll get in the final rounds?" she asked. He smiled. "Hopefully far enough." Sasuke walked by. He stopped and looked at Tami. Then he looked back at Samaru and smirked. Samaru scowled as he walked away.

"Is something wrong?" Tami asked. Samaru shook his head. "So, umm…what's the latest news in the Nara household?" he asked. Tami smiled. "Not much. My uncles will be in Konoha tomorrow. They'll be staying at my house," she said.

"I've never met them," he thought out loud. She smiled. "You can come over tomorrow and meet them. Maybe even stay for dinner. It's the least I can do after making your mom go through so much trouble."

Sakura popped her head out of the kitchen. "He'd love to!" she said cheerfully. He groaned. Tami frowned. "I'm sorry. I guess you don't want to," she said.

He smiled nervously. "Of course I do! I'll be over there tomorrow," he said. She hugged him. The rest of the dinner went by smoothly.

The next night, Samaru went over to Tami's house, holding a bouquet of black roses. Temari answered the door. "Come on in, Samaru. My brothers are here. They're very excited about meeting you," she said. Samaru didn't really like the sound of that.

He went to the living room where Shikamaru and Tami's uncles were. Shikamaru gave him a bored look. Samaru recognized one of the two. The Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara. Gaara gave him a cold glare. Samaru shuddered. "Tami will be down in a sec," Shikamaru said.

Samaru sat across from Gaara. Gaara continued to glare. "So, you must be Tami's uncle," Samaru said. "You must be Tami's boyfriend," he said coldly. He stood up and picked up Samaru by the collar. "I you break her heart, I swear I'll kill you," he said. Samaru wondered if his head had always been that red, or if he killed so many people that his hair had finally turned red. He gulped.

"I'm not exactly her boyfriend," he said. Gaara narrowed his eyes. "Are you suggesting that my niece lied?" he asked. Samaru thought for a second. 'She told him that I was her boyfriend?' he thought. "Well, no. We a-are g-going o-out," he stuttered.

Tami came downstairs. She wore a black kimono with a sakura petal pattern. She wore a bracelet and a necklace with the love kanji on both of them. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail.

She smiled. Gaara looked at Samaru and glared. Samaru looked up at Tami and smiled. "You look umm…nice," he said sweetly. She walked over and sat next to him. "So, Uncle, what's Sunagakure like? I have heard so many stories about it!" she said cheerfully.

Gaara replied, "It's very busy with the war going on." Kankuro smiled. "It's a lot better. The med-nins are more advanced, thanks to Hinata and Sakura," he said. Temari popped her head out of the kitchen. "Dinner's ready," she said.

When they were seated, Samaru looked around at all the food. For dinner was the following: Unagi (fried eel), Genghis Khan (barbeque), Nizakana (fish poached in sweet soy), and white rice. Desert would be dried Persimmon and Karumetou (brown sugar cake).

Tami didn't eat much. Her eyes were fixed on Gaara, who was glaring at Samaru. Temari tried to keep a conversation going, but no one felt like talking.

Strangely, Gaara broke the silence, "Who are your parents?" he asked. Samaru looked up from his plate. "Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha, Sir," he said plainly.

Gaara blinked. "I never thought those two would end up together," he said. Temari laughed. "It was so obvious too! He may have acted like that, but he really did like Sakura," she said.

Samaru raised an eyebrow. "How long have you all known my parents?" he asked. Shikamaru sighed. "Ever since the Chuunin Exams. The Rookie Nine, I think," he said thoughtfully.

Tami was interested now. "Who were they?" she asked. Shikamaru smiled. "The rookies. Fresh from the academy, you could say." Now Samaru was interested. "Who all was in it?" he asked. Shikamaru thought for a moment. "Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, and me," he said.

"My dad, mom, Shino-Sensei and the Hokage were in the Rookie Nine?" he asked. Shikamaru nodded. "You could also say that Naruto wasn't the smartest one there." Tami spoke up, "Do you know where they all are now?"

Shikamaru nodded. Kankuro and Temari had stopped eating to listen to the interesting conversation. "Hinata is the Hokage's wife. Kiba is currently leading a group of genins. Chouji is a jounin who decided to not be a sensei or ANBU or anything else, but he's always been my best friend. Ino…is still alive, leading genins. That's it." Temari laughed. "I remember when you gave up that one time. It was because you liked me wasn't it? Admit it!" she said. He looked at her. "I had no interest in you whatsoever," he said. Temari raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when Shikamaru nodded towards Gaara and she shut up.

Tami looked at her mom. "If you weren't in the Rookie Nine, how did you know Dad?" she asked. Temari smiled. "I was against him in the exams. It was pretty interesting, actually," she said. She chuckled. "Except he gave up. The lazy bastard," she muttered.

That made Samaru chuckle. Gaara gave him another cold glare, and then looked back at Temari. "That was pathetic. It was the most boring fight I had ever seen," he said.

Temari smirked. "You think everything's boring," she said. He shook his head. "It's boring most of the time to sit behind a desk and file papers and mission reports," he said. Kankuro chuckled. "I'm the one that usually does that while you go home to catch up on sleep," he said. Temari hit Kankuro. "Leave him alone. It took him five years to get over Insomnia and he needs to catch up on those years of sleep he missed. Twenty-one years without sleep. How would you feel?" she asked.

"Hey, I had Insomnia for four years straight! It was his fault too!" he said, pointing at Gaara. This time, Gaara hit him. "It was your choice to be scared," he said.

After they finished eating, Samaru and Tami walked outside. "I'm sorry about my uncle. He's always like that," Tami said. Samaru chuckled. "That's ok. My dad gives everyone those kind of glares," he said.

Tami blushed. "So, um…I guess I'll see you later," she said. He smiled and gently placed a kiss on her lips. He turned to walk away, smiling. Tami turned beet-red and walked in a dazed movement towards her house.

When she walked inside, the only one that wasn't still downstairs was Kankuro. She completely ignored them and walked upstairs. Gaara smirked. "Bringing up the Rookie Nine works every time, eh?" he said, looking at Temari and Shikamaru and remembering how they all got Shikaro a girlfriend a year ago. Shikamaru nodded and smirked. Temari giggled.

Ginama's visit to the hospital

Ginama walked towards the Yamanaka Flower Shop. She heard that Isamu had recovered and decided to visit him. She opened the door to the shop. The Yamanakas and Akimichis were gone for the rest of the week and the only ones there were Choukata and Inomaru.

She gasped at Inomaru. He didn't look as preppy as usual. His hair was died black and he was wearing wristbands with spikes on them. He was wearing a regular t-shirt and blue jeans with tears near the knees. He blinked when she walked inside the shop.

"What happened to your hair?" she asked him. He smirked. "It's a prank I'm pulling on my mom. She's coming home early," he said.

Ginama looked around the shop and picked up a bouquet of violets and walked over to Inomaru. She paid him and walked away.

When she got to the hospital, she went to the front desk to see if he was awake. Se walked towards his room and opened the door. No one was there, but tons of cards and flowers surrounded him.

He was staring at the ceiling. He turned to look at her and smiled. She walked over there and sat the bouquet next to the other ones. Most of them said "From: Kozakura". Ginama laughed. "She has a pretty big crush on you, huh?"

Isamu chuckled. "I guess so." Ginama sat on the edge of his bed. "Well, no one on our team is going to the finals. It'll be fun to watch the others fight, though. I came by to give you an update on everything going on," she said.

He looked at her, eyes full of curiosity. "Anyways, Kozakura told me about her brother's little date with a certain teammate of his. Tami, to be exact. At the end, he actually kissed her! He also got to meet the Kazekage!" she said.

Isamu laughed. "So much happening in one night," he said. She nodded and giggled. Then she frowned. "Naoto told me something else. He said Anri won't talk about it, but after you went into the hospital, Kiba found out who sent you here. I heard that he got so mad; he actually got drunk that night. I thought he gave that up years ago. He hit Anri really hard. The bruise is still there from three weeks ago. She won't talk about it of course, but I know she's worried."

Isamu looked away. "I wonder if I should've given up. That way, I wouldn't have come here and she wouldn't have been hit by her father." Ginama shook her head. "No, you weren't supposed to give up. That's a disgrace and you wouldn't want to be like Kozakura and Choukata," she said.

She looked up at a nearby clock. "It's time for me to go, I'll see you around, since you're coming home tomorrow," she said. She stood up and was about to walk away when he grabbed her wrist and spun her around. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips and let go of her. He smirked. "I've been waiting to do that for two months," he said.

She walked out of the room. Dazed, but happy.

A/N- Next, will be the end of the Chuunin Exams! Before you come to conclusions, the war will not affect the Exams in any way. They will go by smoothly. Plus, this was kind of a random chapter I made to tell you all about what went on in those four weeks of training.


	12. The End of the Exams

A/N- Sorry 'bout the previous chapter, it was supposed to be Noboru vs. Samaru not Samaru vs. Shikaro. 

Genma stood in the middle of the arena. In front of him stood Noboru, Samaru, Anri, Tami, and Shikaro. Up in the stands, their teammates cheered them on. Then Genma said, "First, Uchiha Samaru vs. Noboru. The rest of you go up." Anri, Tami, and Shikaro went up towards the stands while Noboru and Samaru stepped away from each other.

Genma stepped back a few feet and said simply, "Begin." Noboru's Byakugan was activated while Samaru activated his Sharingan.

Noboru got in a stance, while Samaru carefully watched his movements. Suddenly, everything was silent. Samaru broke the silence and threw two kunais at Noboru. Noboru dodged him, took a step forward, and struck him in the chest.

Blood dripped out of Samaru's mouth. He stepped back. An intense, burning pain invaded his chest. He looked up, only to be punched and thrown backwards. As soon as he got up, Noboru struck him in the chest again.

Blood poured out of his mouth. He formed a few seals. "Katon, Gokakyu no Jutsu!" A large fireball flew towards Noboru. He tried to dodge it and it hit him in his arm. He held his slightly burnt arm in pain.

He didn't notice that Samaru was running as fast as possible towards him. "Chidori!" Samaru struck him in the shoulder, damaging his arm to the point where he couldn't move it.

Noboru focused all of his chakra to his eyes and his undamaged arm. His Byakugan's power was increased and his hand glowed a deep blue, deeper than most chakras. He struck Samaru in the stomach and sent him flying towards the other side of the arena.

Samaru passed out. Noboru breathed heavily, blood pouring from his wounds. "Winner, Noboru," Genma said. The crowd cheered, except for a few people that lost bets.

Up in the stands, Neji, who was sitting by Sasuke, looked at him. "You lost the bet," he said. Sasuke rolled his eyes and paid the smirking Hyuuga. Sitting next to Neji, was a woman with her brown hair tied up in buns. He brown eyes scanned the arena.

Neji looked at her. "I guess you're glad that Sakura let you leave the hospital, right Tenten?" he asked. She nodded. "I am. I wouldn't ever miss this."

Down in the arena, med-nins took Samaru away to recover, while Noboru went up to where the other rookies were. Hinata was standing with them and made him sit down. She slowly started to heal his wounds as Genma called up for the next two participants to come down into the arena.

Anri's snake-like eyes looked down and watched Tami drift down to the arena with her fan. She jumped down and landed on her feet. She slowly looked up with a vicious glint in her eyes as she walked forward. Genma looked at them both. "Begin," he said.

Tami made the first move she opened her fan and quickly swung it, sending a powerful gust of chakra-embedded wind towards Anri. Anri jumped out of the way and landed behind Tami. As soon as Tami turned around, Anri stabbed her stomach with a kunai and knocked her back.

Tami tried to stand up, but an awful pain shot through her stomach and blood ran down her mouth. She heard Anri snicker. "Get up. If you're suffering now, you don't even know what pain is. Looks like you're going to find out," she said with a smirk.

Up in the Kage stands, Temari clenched her fists. It took all her strength to not jump down there and murder Anri. Gaara looked at his older sister and frowned. "Don't be so frustrated. That kid hasn't grown up in the best environment, if you remember her grandfather and mother," he said calmly.

Naruto looked over towards them and then turned his attention to his son. Naoto was standing there, cheering Anri on. He shook his head and remembered his first try in the Chuunin Exams.

Back in the arena, Tami slowly tried to stand up. Blood soaked her shirt and ran out of her mouth. Anri smirked. "Looks like you won't give up so easily. Very well," she said.

Up in the Kage stands, Kiba (who was guarding the Hokage) shook his head. Kankuro looked over at him. "What's wrong? Scared for your little girl?" he asked teasingly. Kiba shook his head. "It's not her that I'm worried about. It's her battle style. It tears away at the oppenents mental stability. She can't help it. She doesn't want to, but it runs in her mother's side of the family," he said slowly.

He looked back down at Anri. He frowned. "Sometimes, she can be homicidal."

Anri mad her way towards the wounded Tami. She formed a few seals. Hebi (snake). Ryu (dragon). She performed one more unknown seal and her eyes turned coal black as Tami fell to the ground, shuddering.

She muttered things to herself. She was having a total mental breakdown. Genma looked up at Naruto and Naruto nodded. Genma raised his arm. "Winner, Inuzuka Anri." Anri looked disappointed as the med-nins took a shuddering Tami away. She stood there, waiting for Shikaro to come down from the stands. He was about to give up. Noboru noticed, looked both ways, and knocked him over the edge.

Shikaro instantly felt his mind race. Not one good thought came up. He looked at Anri. An evil look was on her face. He smirked. "The match hasn't even begun and you're already attacking me?" he said. Anri grinned evilly.

Genma stepped back. "Begin," he said. Anri appeared right in front of Shikaro, her eyes full of murderous intent. She punched him and he hit the wall.

She tried to take a step forward, but something stopped her. She looked down to see that she had been caught by his shadow. She sighed as a shadow hand came up towards her neck. She looked at Shikaro. She didn't need hand seals to beat him. He started shuddering and his shadow let go of Anri.

Anri smirked and walked towards him with a kunai, but he grabbed her hand and twisted it around. He put a kunai up to the back of her neck and whispered, "Mind tricks don't work on me." She smirked and whispered back, "I'm sure they don't, Nara, but you still don't have as strong a mind as Shikamaru. Right?" she said.

Shikaro sighed. "Troublesome woman." Anri looked at him. "What are you waiting for? Finish me off," she commanded.

The audience waited. Kiba clenched his fists. As far as he had known, no one got that close to his daughter unless they wanted to die. Shikaro passed the limit.

Anri leaned towards Shikaro and whispered in his ear. "I have you now," she purred. The purr caught Shikaro off guard and he didn't notice that the kunai that he was holding had dropped. He didn't notice those seals she had performed while she was whispering. His mind was dazed. Last of all, he didn't notice her hitting his neck and him falling. Then, everything went dark.

Anri smirked. That trick always worked. She looked at Genma. Genma held up his arm. "Winner, Inuzuka Anri." Anri watched as the med-nins

"An hour break will begin…now," Genma said. The audience was talking and the Hokage and Kazekage were discussing something that no one else could hear.

Anri walked into the stands and stood next to Noboru. Kiba was standing next to him this time. She stopped. "I-I'm sorry dad," she stuttered. Her dad grinned. "What's there to be sorry about?" he asked. Anri gave a weak smile and walked to the far side of the area, away from Hinata, Kiba, and Noboru.

Hinata looked at him. "How many ninjas can use those mind tricks?" she asked. Kiba sighed. "Only two are alive. Many ninjas that tried it went insane because the tricks backfired on them. You have to have part of her or Orochimaru's blood flowing through you to have that ability. If you remember the proble years ago, enemies tried that. All of them died slow, painful deaths."

Hinata frowned. She remembered something like that during a time about five years ago. Even though she was the Hokage's wife, she wasn't allowed to know any more than the citizens.

"So it's genjustu?" she asked. Kiba shook his head. "No. this is harmful, unlike genjutsu. It attacks a person in their mind. It's more of a ninjutsu or Kekkei Genkai."

Anri heard every word. She clenched her fists. The only way to win the next battle would be to use those 'mind tricks'. Although, she didn't want to hurt her best friend. She was confused. She turned away from the arena and sighed. Then, she her father looking at a nearby an ANBU officer. "Inuzuka Kiba. The Hokage wishes to speak to you after the exams," he said calmly. Kiba sighed and closed his eyes. "Ok." He opened his eyes back up and saw that the ANBU was gone.

After forty minutes, the crowd cheered as Noboru and Anri walked into the center. Noboru activated his Byakugan. Genma looked at both of them. "The final match. Inuzuka Anri vs. Noboru. Begin."

Noboru stood still. He learned to let his opponent make the first move.Anri walked forward. She formed a few seals and kept walking. Noboru focused his eyes. Then, something stabbed his back. He turned around and hit Anri in her stomach.

She flew backwards and hit a nearby wall. Blood poured from her mouth. She stood up. Noboru removed the kunai from his back and got in a certain stance.

Up in the stands, Tenten kept a stern face on. Although, she was VERY worried. She clenched her fists, silently praying that her son would be ok.

Noboru watched Anri. She just smirked and charged at him. She tackled him and pinned him to the ground. Then, she held a kunai over his chest. She had another of those evil glints in her eyes.

Her hand shook as her mind raced. She felt at war with herself over whether or not she should kill him. She tightened her grip on the kunai and, after a few seconds, blood splattered on both of them.

The entire crowd gasped. Naoto stared, wide-eyed. Anri had stabbed her own hand.

She frowned and held up her bleeding hand. She had just barely stopped herself from killing him. She raised her hand and stood up. "I give up," she said.

The crowd gasped again. Genma looked at her with a shocked expression. "Winner, Noboru." The audience cheered and a few people payed bets. Noboru looked at Anri and frowned. She just smiled and walked away.

The audience began leaving the stands and the Hokage and Kazekage jumped down from their seats, followed by their guards. Naruto smiled. "Congratulations." Gaara rolled his eyes. "He won by default. That Inuzuka could've finished him off," he said. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him. "Shut-up!"

Tenten and Neji ushed over to Noboru. Tenten hugged him. "Are you ok?" she asked. He smiled. "I'm fine mom. Y-You were here this whole time?" he asked. Tenten nodded.

Naruto sighed. "Gaara and I need to speak with both of you, Hinata, Kiba, Sakura and Sasuke," he said out loud. Neji nodded and followed them as they walked off. Tenten smiled. "Run along, this might be interesting," she whispered.

Noboru ran after them, with Tenten following him.

They made it to a room where meetings were usually held. Naruto sat down with Gaara on his left and Hinata on his right. Next to Hinata, was Neji, then Tenten. Next to Gaara were Sasuke and Sakura. At the corners of the room stood Kiba, Temari, Kankuro, and Shikamaru.

Little to their knowledge, Anri, Samaru, Kozakura, Tami, Shikaro, and Naoto were listening to every word.

Naruto was the first to speak. "As you may know, there are many powerful clans in Konoha. The Naras, Uchihas, Hyuugas, Akimichis, Inuzukas, Aburames, and the Yamanakas. Soon I hope there will be another. Although, that is off subject. Tenten, Neji…you've kept it secret for too long. There are two unpure Hyuugas. One being my own son, and the other being yours, Tenten. I know we thought it was right at the time, it altered his personality. The less he knows about his father, the more impatient he'll grow. I want you both to talk to him later on."

Next, he turned to look at Kiba. "Kiba, you know about the abilities your daughter has. We won't ever seal her abilities, but we might have to decide her fate. As soon as she is eighteen, she will have to be married off to a Sunagakure ninja or a Hyuuga. This might just start a new clan in one of the villages. We need her abilities to win this war." Kiba looked down. Outside the door, Anri felt waves of pure anger rush through her.

Naruto hesitated. "Or maybe even an Uchiha." Sasuke slammed his fist on the table, his eyes red with the Sharingan. "I'm not letting that mutt anywhere near my son." Sakura put her hand on his shoulder and made him sit back down.

Naruto looked mad. "I said **_maybe_**! Listen, you wanted to repopulate your clan, when they're seventeen, they can learn to tolerate each other and marry at eighteen," he explained. Sasuke glared at him but kept silent when Naruto held up a kunai.

"This discussion is over," he said. The kids ran off just as the adults were walking out of the door.

Samaru watched as Anri walked away. "Where are you going?" he yelled. She glared at him and kept walking. Tami shook her head. "That's why I'm a Nara. I don't have to worry 'bout anything."

Noboru sighed. He felt sorry for her, but it was getting dark. He ran to the Hyuuga Mansion. As soon as he opened the door, Neji, Naruto, Tenten, and Hinata were sitting on a couch. "Noboru," Tenten said, "We need to talk."


	13. IMPORTANT MUST BE READ

The next chapter will be the last and after that, I'll work on a sequel! Now, I want all of you viewers to decide on what the end will be like. First of all, you will send me a message with your vote. DO NOT POST YOUR VOTE ON A REVIEW!

Noboru runs off, feeling betrayed depressed and angry that his parents had kept such an important secret all his life. He will show up in the next sequel.

If you chose the above one…who do you want to try to stop him?

-Tenten

-Anri

-Naoto

-Neji

-Samaru (won't that be a twist!"

-Hinata

-Naruto

-No one

Noboru stays and completely understands why he was lied to his entire life. PLEASE DON'T PICK THIS ONE! I mean, sheesh, how srupid is that?

Noboru is depressed but Tenten/Neji talk to him when he runs off and he is mad at first, then understands.

Ok, well I won't be making the next chapter until I get enough votes! (10-15, maybe less)


	14. Resulting

I know that most of you didn't vote, but I can't wait! Like most of you, I'm excited about the ending! I promise there will be a sequel and plus….I 'm sorry, most of you chose the last one, but I like where he feels betrayed. It was sort of a vote/up-to-me thing, but I decided on the feeling betrayed thing. I stayed up late thinking about each of those, but my mind kept coming back to him feeling betrayed. I can't make a sequel without a plotline, and I can only think of a plotline for him being betrayed. I'm VERY sorry, and I hope you all will still read! If you don't want to, that's fine. If you have any problems with that, I'll make two different alternate endings. Just remember, there won't be a sequel if he understands why they didn't tell him.

Sorry!

Keily


	15. Betrayal

Noboru sat down. Tenten gave him a weak smile. "We know how you've been waiting to know who your father was for a long time. I think you should finally know. For one thing, he is a pure Hyuuga. You're supposed to be part of the Branch Family."

She took a deep breath. Noboru felt anxious and nervous. He took a deep breath and gulped. Tenten spoke up, "I want you to know that we couldn't tell you sooner because his…well…'temporary' wife would find out and Konoha would've been attacked sooner."

She looked him in the eye. "Noboru, even though you didn't know, you grew up around your father. Noboru…Neji is your father." Noboru felt his heart pound against his chest and felt a burning anger and deep depression spread throughout his body. Tears stung his eyes as he ran out the door.

Tenten was about to stand up, but Neji beat her to it and ran out the door. Noboru ran towards his team's usual training grounds and sobbed. They lied to him. Konoha lied to him. Neji placed a hand on his shoulder. "Noboru, this was for the sake of Konoha," he said with a weak smile.

Noboru glared at him. "How did this protect Konoha?" he yelled. Neji felt tears run down his face. He wrapped his arms around Noboru. "Listen, Konoha would've been attacked sooner and we would've been unprepared." Noboru felt even angrier.

"I wouldn't have told anyone! I would've kept it secret!" he yelled. Neji looked at him with sad eyes. His eyes widened as he felt pain shoot through him and pass out.

Noboru stood over Neji, tears streamed down his face. He ran towards the outskirts of Konoha. When he finally got there, he ran into Anri, who was on her way back from a walk. She looked at him.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" she asked. Noboru's mind was in turmoil. He struck Anri in the stomach and kept running. Anri got up and, sensing something was wrong, tackled him to the ground and pinned him down and held a kunai up to his throat. "What's your problem?" she snapped.

He struggled under her grasp. He kicked her in the stomach and stood up while she fell over and passed out. He frowned. He still felt like the entire village betrayed him. He managed to give her a quick kiss on her cold, pale lips and whispered, "I'm sorry. I can't trust anyone now."

He took the kunai that she had held up to his throat and dropped it in his kunai pouch. It had a fang-like marking on it so that he could tell that kunai from the others. He dropped his forehead protector on her and stumbled away, feeling betrayed, cold, and uncertain of what lie ahead.

Anri woke up, shivering. Her pale yellow eyes looked at her surroundings, recalling last night's events. She sat up and heard metal hit the cold concrete ground. She looked down and her eyes widened as tears ran freely down her face. She hugged her knees and sobbed.

She wanted to tell him all of her feelings. Now, it was too late. He was gone forever. She stood up and heard screams behind her. She turned to face Konoha. Her eyes widened even more as she clutched the headband to her chest. "No," she whispered.

A loud crash was heard as a giant snake knocked down Konoha's south wall. Ninjas flew in through the opening.

She ran to help when she bumped into someone. She looked up into cruel, cold yellow eyes. A smirk appeared on the man's pale face. Behind him stood a man with white hair that was wearing glasses.

The man that she had run into chuckled cruelly. "Hello, Anri," he said in a cold voice. Tears streamed down her face as she looked into the eyes of her mother's killer, Orochimaru.

A/N-this was the chapter for Noboru feeling betrayed. It's Not very long because I wanted to go ahead and start writing the sequel, "In Our Time of Need". Look forward to it!


	16. Sorry! NO ALTERATE ENDING!

A/N- Sorry, I'm finding the other alternate ending B-O-R-I-N-G…plus I have MAJOR writer's block. So, I am sorry to say that the other alternate ending will be discontinued. For those of you that liked the ending I picked, the sequel's out! Oh, well. Deepest apologies…I'm VERY sorry…Well, enjoy the sequel (If you read it). It's called "In Our Time of Need."


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